The tale of the first Avenger
by SugarLoaf12
Summary: Shepard has been searching his whole life for his purpose. He may have found it among the Avengers. One redheaded spy may help give his life meaning. Will he outlive the Avengers Initiative? Or will be struck down by mistress death.
1. The thousand year old man

**Shepard will be taking the place of Captain America (Only without being Captain America) He is immortal like Wolverine and will be pairing with Black Widow. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter one: The thousand year old man**

Shepard sat up holding his gun in front of his face directed at the door sweat running down his face. Placing the gun down he slowly got up out of bed. Looking in the mirror he was a muscular man with black hair and goatee leading from his mouth to his chin. He had blue eyes that held great emotional strain behind them. Walking down to his basement he walked to his punching bag. Shepard began punching the bag hard left and then right, over and over for the next fifteen minutes. With a final punch it flew across the room with the hook still attached to it.

"Not again" Shepard sighed tiredly.

Walking up to his kitchen he heard knocking at his front door. Approaching the door slowly he peered outside to see who it was. Sighing he opened the door revealing Colonel Chester Phillips and SSR Agent Peggy Carter. "Commander we need to talk" Philips demanded sternly.

"I am not in the military anymore Colonel" Shepard said annoyed closing the door in their faces, Peggy stopped the door with her hand "Please, just listen to what we have to say" she said with a pleading look in her eyes.

Shepard remained silent for a moment. Opening the door he motioned for them to enter.

"Thank you" Peggy said walking to the kitchen.

"Beer Colonel?"

"Please"

Shepard grabbed a beer from his fridge handing it to him and sitting down at the table.

"Say what you have to say before I change my mind"

"We need you Commander, this war isn't going as well as it could be. If you joined it would be over before Hitler knows what hit him" Phillips explained.

"No"

"Excuse me?"

"No"

"Why not? You are the best man we have. There isn't anyone else who could do what you do"

"I don't kill anymore Colonel. Not unless there isn't a choice"

"What happened that made you change your policy against killing?" Carter asked curiously.

"I met someone"

"Met someone? Who?"

"We are done, you can show yourselves out"

"Commander you have fought in every war since the revolution. You practically shaped America to what it is today" Phillips said annoyed.

"I killed people for a paycheck. I never cared about anything else, money and fighting were the only things I cared about. That's changed after the last war. I won't continue with this cycle of unaccountability. I am accountable for all the men I have killed in defense of this country and I will carry that with me for the rest of my life. Now, you can either see yourselves out or I can force you out" Shepard explained in an Icy tone.

"I see" Carter said disappointment evident on her face "Thank you for your time" she added walking out the front door.

"You're a disappointment to the uniform" Phillips said following behind her.

 _I need a drink_

* * *

"I knew I would find you here" a voice said grabbing Shepard's attention.

"Bucky" Shepard said hugging the man as he walked over.

"You have your orders?"

"107th infantry regiment" he answered fixing his hat "I ship out tomorrow"

"I wish you luck" Shepard said raising his glass to him.

"Thank you. Why haven't you enlisted?"

"I am not in the killing business anymore" he answered taking a swig of his drink.

"Well then I guess you are going to have a lot of women around to keep you company" he joked elbowing Shepard in the shoulder.

"I'd settle for just one" he said back with a smile.

"Then why don't you try giving one of the girls swooning over you a chance?" Bucky asked.

"None of them are my type"

"What is your type? I have known you my entire life and not once have I seen you with a woman"

"Maybe I just didn't want you to know I was dating someone" he said back with a playful wink.

"Seriously, you practically raised me and yet you haven't ever taken the time to be with anyone"

"It's not easy finding people who aren't put off by my healing ability and the fact I don't age"

"That's because you haven't found the right woman yet"

"And how exactly will I know when I find 'the right woman'?"

"Trust me, you'll know" he said standing up from the barstool "Do me a favor and give someone a chance every now and then" he said walking towards the exit.

"Good luck!" he yelled out to him receiving a wave in recognition.

Shepard quietly mulled over his words. What was his purpose in life now that he has no war to fight, No assassinations to complete, hell there wasn't even any gangs that he could take down while the war goes on. Should he join? ending the war would make Bucky safer so he wouldn't be in a foxhole every day for the next five years or more. Worse even end up dead.

Shepard sighed in annoyance not being able to decide what to do with himself "Another" he called to the bartender.

"Is this seat taken?" a man asked approaching him. Shepard turned to the man "Doctor Erskine? I would've thought you were still in Germany"

"No, not after the war started. I couldn't bring myself to continue to support a country of butchers"

"So you came to America? That's not much higher up on the scale. American's will still kill you , but they will feel guilty about it later"

"Yet you remain?"

"I have no where else to go. The rest of the world has gone to shit"

"That's a crude but fairly accurate statement"

"Surely you didn't come here to tell me about Germany's butchers"

"No I didn't, and don't call me Shirley" he said with a wink.

"I am about to leave if you don't start talking"

"You're right, I came here to tell you the serum is complete thanks to your DNA"

"Really? Congratulations, I am happy to hear your work is finished"

"Oh I am nowhere close to being finished"

"What do you mean?"

"I still need to pick a candidate"

"Good luck with that then"

"I want you to be one of the possible candidates"

"Doctor I am not a soldier anymore"

"I am not looking to make a soldier, I am looking to make the next step in human evolution. I believe you should have a chance to be that man as a reward for helping to perfect it"

Shepard stared at him weighing his options "Fine, I will join the program. It will give me something to do while I figure out where my life is headed"

"Excellent, I will send a car for you in the morning" he said excitedly walking towards the exit.

"You don't know where I live"

"Then I will expect you at Camp Lehigh first thing in the morning" he answered back as the door closed behind him.

* * *

"Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter. I supervise all operations of this division" she said pacing in front of the line of men.

"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army" One soldier said rudely.

"Have some respect for your superiors" Shepard coldly responded.

"What's your name soldier?"

"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty"

"Step forward, Hodge" she ordered. Hodge steps forward "Put your right foot forward"

"Are we dancing? Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like"

Carter punches him in the face sending him to the floor.

Shepard smirked to himself _Disrespectful little shit_

"Agent Carter" Colonel Phillips addressed exiting the vehicle transporting him.

"Colonel Phillips"

"I see you are roughening up our men, that's good. Pick your ass out of the dirt, soldier"

"Yes, sir" he responded standing back up with a crisp salute.

"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men" Phillips stopped looking sternly at Shepard with a shake of his head.

"And because they're gonna get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is and allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers. And they, will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell"

* * *

The men all stopped running at the flag pole, most of them looked like they were about to pass out. Shepard wiped beads of sweat from his forehead looking to be not even slightly tired.

"If anyone can get this flag they will be awarded a ride back in the car!" the instructor yelled as the men struggled to climb the pole.

"No one has ever gotten that flag before and I don't see any of you doing it today! Fall in!" he yelled, the men responded with groans as the ran back to the track.

Shepard approached the pole, pulled the stakes out of the pole out resulting in it falling over. Shepard grabbed the flag and handed it to the instructor "Thank you" he said stepping into the car.

Peggy smiled at him with an amused expression on her face. "Fighting isn't something you do with your body, your mind can make all the difference between winning and losing a battle" Shepard said leaning back in the car.

* * *

"You're not thinking about picking Shepard, are you?" Phillips asked Erskine.

"I am more than just thinking about it. He is the clear choice"

"That man is a pansy he refuses to fight in the war because he would have to kill people, he doesn't follow orders well and doesn't even want to be picked"

"I am looking qualities beyond the physical"

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project?"

"Yeah, I know"

"And all the groveling I had to do in front of senator what's his name"

"I know, I am well aware of your efforts"

"Then throw me a bone! Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's just as big, just as fast, and he obeys orders. He's a soldier"

"He's a bully"

"You don't win wars with niceness, doctor"

Phillips pulls a grenade in hand "You win wars with guts" he throws the grenade to where the candidates were doing pushups "Grenade!"

All of the soldiers quickly move away, Shepard jumps onto the grenade instantly covering it with his body.

"Get away! Get back!" he yelled anticipating an explosion, realization hit him. Standing back up "It's a dummy grenade? Is this a test?" he asked looking to Phillips and Erskine.

Erskine looks at Phillips as to confirm his point about choosing Shepard "He's still a pansy" he said walking off.

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Just one?"

"Why me? You had an entire group of candidates just as qualified for the serum"

"I suppose that is the only question that matters. Do you know what the first country the Nazi's invaded was?"

"Their own right?"

He nodded "You know, after the last war...my people struggled. They...they felt weak. They felt small. And then Hitler comes along with the marching and the big show and the flags and the...and the..."

He waves his hands.

"And he...he hears of me, my work and he finds me. And he says, you...he says you will make us strong. Well, I am not interested. So he sends the head of Hydra, his research division. A brilliant scientist by the name of-"

"Johann Schmidt, I know the man and am familiar with Hydra"

"Not many are. Now, Schmidt is a member of his inner circle and he's ambitious. He and Hitler share a passion for a cult power and Teutonic myth. Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers. But for Schmidt it is not fantasy. For him, it is real. He has become convinced that there is a great power in the Earth, left there by the Gods, waiting to be seized by a superior man. So when he hears about my formula and what it can do, he cannot resist"

"Did it make him stronger?"

"Yeah, but there were other effects. The serum was not ready. But more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion"

"You picked me? I am not sure I am a prime example of a week man"

"You are a strong man but did not begin there, you fought your way to where you are now. When I first met you I would've never even considered you for the serum. But I can see you are a different man then you were then and I know with my serum you will do things no one has ever dreamed of"

"Thanks, I think"

"Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man"

"Thank you doctor, everyone always wanted me around when I was this merciless killer with no regard for what my actions may have done. But ever since I swore off killing no one has stood behind me everyone always questioned everything I did, people suspected I had switched sides and was a spy for Germany. Bucky, my friend was the only one who never did, and you. You have more faith in me than I have in myself. I promise you Abraham, starting tomorrow I will do everything in my power to be the man I used to be a long time ago and worthy of the faith you have in me.

"To the little guy" he toasted with the two drinks.

"No! No! Wait! Wait! What am I doing? No! You have a procedure tomorrow. No fluids" he yelled pouring the contents into his own glass.

"All right. We will drink it after"

"No! I don't have procedure tomorrow. Drink it after? Drink it now! he said gulping it down quickly. Shepard laughed lightly in response

* * *

"So what made a beautiful girl like you join the SSR?"

"Are you flirting with me Commander?"

"No"

"You have a woman back at home?"

"No"

"Why not? Don't tell me the woman aren't lining up to dance with you?"

"No they are, It just hasn't ever matter to me"

"Really? No one caught your fancy?"

"People don't exactly stick around when they find out you'll outlive the next five generations of their families"

"I suppose that makes sense"

"Figure I can wait"

"For what?"

"The right partner"

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Erskine asked as he walked him towards the machine.

"Nervous, I am already bigger than most men. What will the serum do to me?"

"It will not make you any larger than you already are, you will become stronger and faster, you will heal faster than the average man and your brain will become enhanced. At least that is the hope, I have never tested this on a human yet"

An explosion knocked everyone over, a man stole the serum shattering the others.

"Stop him!" Erskine yelled before being shot by him. The man ran up the stairs being followed by Carter.

Shepard caught Erskine, he pointed to Shepard's chest before dying. Shepard quickly followed. Arriving outside he saw a car headed straight for Peggy standing in the middle of the road pointing a pistol at the driver.

Pushing her out of the way Shepard was hit by the car sending him flying into another nearby vehicle. Standing up his wounds healed as he ran quickly following the vehicle, running down an alleyway using his left leg he pushed off the wall doing the same with the opposite wall flipping over the fence.

* * *

"Who the hell are you?"

"The first of many. Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail Hydra!" the man chanted popping a fake tooth loose and swallowing it, he foams at the mouth and dies.

"Cyanide" Shepard says to himself. Noticing the shattered vial on the ground "Phillips is gonna be pissed" He walked back towards where the experiment was supposed to take place.

* * *

"Erskine deserved better than this"

"The serum never got to be put to use" Carter said disappointed.

"Hydra is practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he's invincible. And they are technologically more advanced than us!" Phillips yelled in annoyance.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Senator Brandt asked.

"Spoke to the president this morning. As of today the SSR is being retasked"

Carter looked to Phillips "Colonel?"

"We are taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Stark. You're flying to London tonight"

"I want in" Shepard said stepping in front of Phillips.

"Now you want to fight?"

"Only against Hydra, they don't have any loyalty to Germany they would see the entire world burn so they can rebuild it in their own image"

"You gonna attack to kill them?"

"No"

"Then the answer is no, I have no use for a soldier who wont kill the enemy"

"I know more about Hydra and Schmidt than all your intelligence reports put together"

"I asked for an army and I didn't even get one. You are not enough if you wont kill" Phillips left the room.

"Do you want to-"

"Finish that sentence Brandt and I will reconsider my policy on killing" Shepard interrupted darkly.

Brandt quickly left the room leaving Shepard and Carter alone "You are holding something back about Schmidt aren't you?"

Shepard stared at her not answering her question he turned to leave.

"If we are to have any chance of beating Hydra we need to know everything we can, even if Phillips wont let you fight you can still help"

Shepard stopped upon hearing her words "Johann Schmidt was ordered to execute me and other prisoners during the last war. Instead he staged an escape telling us to return to our families. Johann and I became friends after the war and met many times often to loan him money due to his country's poor economy at the time. He was the one who restored my faith in humanity and reminded me that all people have people who care for them and they deserve the right to have them for as long as they can. I swore to never kill another living creature for as long as I live unless I had no other choice and I was saving a life"

"He clearly isn't the same man you once knew him to be, why continue with this belief of yours?"

"Because if good men like him are capable of being bad and bad men like me are capable of being good. Then even bad men like him deserve the chance to try to atone. Even if they have to do so from a jail cell" Shepard explained "I was there when he formed Hydra and I know what its goals are, and while they are noble their methods are quite the opposite"

"So you believe that he has the capability to be good again?"

"I believe everyone deserves the chance"

"Not everyone would agree"

"I have faith" Shepard said smiling to her over his shoulder before leaving the room.

* * *

 **Chapter one! I hope you all like it so far next chapter coming soon**


	2. Red Skull

**Shepard is going to be wearing Deathstroke's Judas contract outfit this chapter but will be changing into the Injustice version later on. Hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter two: Red Skull**

"What have you brought me all the way out here for Carter?"

"I didn't bring you out here, you showed up wanting to see Colonel Phillips remember?" she asked winking at him.

"Right...and I wanted to talk to him because?"

"Schmidt sent out a force to Rosano. Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. The men here are what's left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."

"The 107th?" Shepard said before he quickly ran to the command tent to find Phillips.

"wait you can't go in there" she called after with a smirk and slowly followed him.

"Colonel Phillips!" Shepard yelled walking in grabbing his attention.

"Commander? How exactly did you get here?" he asked irritated.

"I need the casualty list for Rosano"

"You don't get to give me orders, son"

"I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th"

Phillips pointed to Peggy "You and I are going to have a conversation later that you won't enjoy"

"Sir! Please just tell me if he is alive, B-A-R-" Shepard pleaded.

"I can spell. I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry" he answered placing his hand on his shoulder.

Shepard was silent, unmoving he turned to leave stopping at the entrance "What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?"

"Yeah! it's called winning the war"

"If you know where they are, what stops you from trying"

"They're thirty miles behind enemy lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe"

"You'd lose more men than you would save" Shepard interrupted.

"We would lose-yes"

Shepard looks at the map showing where the men are captured "Thank you for your cooperation Colonel" he said walking out.

"If you have something to say Carter, now would be the best time to keep it to yourself"

Peggy scowled as she walked out of the tent following Shepard.

"What do you plan to do? Walk to Austria?"

"If that's what it takes"

"You heard the Colonel, your friend is most likely dead"

"Maybe, but the men there will face horrors worse than death if we don't get them out"

"Even so, he is devising a strategy to take-"

"By the time he has done that, it will be too late! You brought me here for a reason what was it if not to save those men?"

"I was hoping you could convince Phillips we needed your help after what happened at Rosano, I didn't expect you to go off on your own-"

"You have to let me do this Carter"

"I can do more than that" she said with a smile she walked into her tent picking up her phone "Howard? Yes I need to schedule us some tickets to Austria do you think you can handle that?"

* * *

"Didn't you used to wear that armor in the last world war? My dad wouldn't shut up about you" Stark observed.

"Yes! I remember seeing you on the television all the time, they used to call you 'The Spectre'!" Peggy said with a hint of excitement.

"The man that went by that name was a cold blooded killer looking for his next paycheck" Shepard said back annoyed.

"Then why are you still wearing it?" Peggy asked

"No better way to clean the blood of the suit than with saving some men. You know you two are going to be in a lot of trouble when you touch down"

"And you won't?"

"I can punch my way out of my problem, you cannot"

"They will undoubtedly shoot at you not lecture you"

"Well lets hope I am faster than they are"

"The base is in Kraus Berg. Use this transmitter when you are ready and we will follow the signal to you" Peggy explained handing him the device.

"Agent Carter! I we aren't in too much of a hurry I thought we might stop off in Lucerne for a late night fondue" Stark called from the cockpit, Peggy visibly stiffened.

"Stick to becoming a better pilot Stark" Shepard called back with a smirk.

"Stark is the best civilian pilot I've ever seen. He's mad enough to brave this airfield, we're lucky to have him"

The plane comes under attack from artillery cannons, Shepard walks to the exit opening the hatch.

"Get back here! We're taking you all the way in" Peggy yelled to him.

"As soon as I am free, turn this thing around and get the hell out of here!" he ordered.

"You can't give me orders!"

Shepard jumps out of the plane pulling his parachute just above the tree line so the base wouldn't see him landing.

Shepard walked to the road waiting for the truck he saw earlier. The truck approached, jumping into the back he met two Hydra guards looking back at him "Hey, how's it going boys?" he asked. They charged him from their seats.

Shepard caught ones arm as he kicked the other in the abdomen, snapping his arm he head-butted him tossing him over his back out of the truck, the other stood back up to get a punch to his face knocking him out. Catching him he tossed him out of the truck.

Sitting down on the bench he sighed "Easy part is over, now for something more challenging" he said to himself. The truck stopped in front of the facility. One guard walked to the back expecting two men, instead he was grabbed pulled into the truck and punched knocking him out.

Leaving the truck he smacked the driver into the truck door knocking him unconscious. Dragging him to the back he tossed him into the truck.

* * *

Shepard entered the holding cells finding one guard dangling the keys above them tauntingly. Sneaking up behind him he covered his mouth to stop him from screaming and choked him of air until he fell unconscious.

"Who are you supposed to be?" one of the prisoners asked.

Opening the cells he answered "Get out fast and give 'em hell. I'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else I find"

"Wait! You know what you're doing?"

"Ya, I am putting a fire under Schmidt's ass"

Running through the facility he freed anyone he came across hearing gunfire starting outside "Looks like the fun began without me"

Shepard entered a dark hallway seeing a small man standing at the end of it, his hands full of files. The man began to run the opposite direction upon seeing him.

"Wait!" he yelled running after him, stopping at the room he left he found Bucky strapped to a chair.

"Bucky? Bucky, it's me" he said unstrapping him from the chair.

"Shepard?" he asked in surprise.

"Come on"

"I thought I was going to die in here"

"Not on my watch you aren't"

Running towards the exit of the facility they found the place was going up in flames.

"Commander Shepard! How exciting! Johann Schmidt yelled from across the room.

"Schmidt" Shepard said venom seeping from his tone.

I remember our little talks we used to have in Berlin before the war. Imagine my surprise at finding out Erskine chose you for his experiment. Although it's too bad what happened to him, he never got to see his work realized"

Shepard punched him in the face sending him back several feet grabbing his mouth in pain. Schmidt punched at him, Shepard blocked with his left arm, delivering an uppercut with his right the kicking him in the chest sending him onto his back. Zola pulled a lever separating the platform.

"You used to be a better man Schmidt. The monster you have become only became worse after that serum"

"Monster? No matter what lies Erskine told you, I was his greatest success!" Schmidt peeled the skin off his face revealing him as the Red Skull "You are deluded Commander. You pretend to be like them, but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!" he yelled entering the elevator with Zola.

"Then how come you're running?" he asked as Skull and Zola closed the elevator doors.

* * *

"Senator Brandt, I regret to report that Commander Johnathan G. Shepard went missing behind enemy lines on the third. Aerial reconnaissance has proven unfruitful, as a result I must declare Commander Shepard killed in action. Period."

Agent Carter walked into the tent gaining the Colonel's attention "The last surveillance flight is back" she placed the photos on his desk "No signs of activity"

"Go get a cup of coffee corporal" Phillips ordered examining the pictures "I can't touch Stark, he's rich. And he's the army's number one weapons contractor; I can't put it on Shepard since he is dead. You are neither" he stated in annoyance setting down the photos.

"With respect sir, I don't regret my actions, and I don't think Commander Shepard did either" she said with a stoic expression causing him to scowl with narrowed eyes.

"What makes you think I give a damn? I took a chance on you Carter, and now America's top man and a lot of good men are dead. And for what?"

"Because I had faith"

"Well I hope that's a big comfort to you when they shut this division down" he countered, the two glaring at each other. Their attention turned to the soldiers running towards the camp entrance "The hell is going on?" he muttered walking out of the tent Carter following closely.

Approaching the camp was Shepard with Bucky to his right and a small army of men following on foot or in trucks and a single tank. "Look who it is!" one of the soldiers yelled causing the others to cheer and applaud.

Shepard stopped in front of Colonel Phillips "I would like to surrender myself for disciplinary action on Carter's behalf" he stated stoically.

Phillips stared at him with a calculating eye "I see...well that won't be necessary" he stated with a small smile turning around he stepped over to Peggy "Faith huh?" he asked before walking back into the tent.

"You're late" she said looking to Shepard. Raising the transponder in front of her showing it to be broken "Couldn't call my ride" he said pulling his mask off. Peggy looked at him with an amused look.

"Hey! Let's hear it for Commander Shepard!" Bucky yelled causing the men to cheer for him, much to his protest. After they finally quieted down and returned to their posts, Shepard handed a file to Peggy "We have a problem" he said leading her towards the command tent.

* * *

"What do you say Commander? It's your map, you think you can wipe Hydra off it?" Phillips asked pointing to it.

"I'll need a team"

"We're already putting together the best men"

"With all due respect, so am I" he answered leaving the room.

* * *

Dugan: "So, let's get this straight"

Jones: "We barely got out of there alive, and you want us to go back?"

Shepard: "Pretty much"

Falsworth: "Sounds rather fun, actually"

Morita: "I'm in" he said with a belch.

Jones/Denier: "We're in" they say laughing as they shake hands.

Dugan: "Hell, I'll always fight. But you got to do one thing for me"

"Name it"

"Open a tab"

"We'll that was easy" Morita noted.

Shepard walks over to the bar "Another round"

"Where are they putting all this stuff?" the barkeeper asked.

Bucky joins Shepard at the counter "See? I told you. They're all idiots"

"How about you? You ready to charge back into the jaws of death?"

"Hell no, not unless you jump in first"

"You won't have to worry about that" he said with a smirk.

"Howard Stark has some equipment for me to see 0800 tomorrow, make sure they get home in one piece huh?" Shepard asked Bucky as he walked out of the bar.

"Will do, Commander"

* * *

"I am here to see Stark"

"He is in with the Colonel" the secretary answered.

Shepard looked to the clock reading 7:50 _I suppose I am early_ Taking a seat he pulled a small book out of his back pocket and began reading.

"Read about what you did" she said setting down a newspaper that read _'400 soldiers Liberated'_

"Just doing the right thing"

"Sounded like more than that. You saved nearly four hundred men"

"It was nothing"

"Tell that to their wives"

"They weren't married"

"Your a hero"

"Depends on who you ask"

Standing from her desk she slowly approached him swaying her hips as she did "The women of America, they owe you their thanks. And uh...seeing as they're not here" She lowers her lips towards his being stopped by a finger to her lips.

"Sorry Loraine, not interested" he said having read her nameplate when he entered, turning the page having never looked up from his book.

"Commander, we are ready for you" Peggy said seeing the annoyed expression on the secretary's face. Shepard rose from his seat placing the book back into his pocket he followed Carter.

"What did you do to her?" she asked curiously.

"Rejection hurts Peg" he answered shrugging.

"Shepard, my friend! I have quite a few things to show you" Howard excitedly lead him into the lab.

"Show me what you got Stark" he said with a smirk.

"First off we have this new bullet I made just for you, I know you have a rule against killing...we filled each bullet with a chemical that will render anyone hit with this to become unconscious as long as you don't shoot them in the face that is. The bullet shatters on contact so if anyone is wearing armor to thick for the chemical to pierce it turns into a gas upon contact with oxygen still knocking them unconscious" he explained holding one up to show.

"Over here we have your weapons, I have made these to handguns just for you, they have the range of a small rifle while maintaining the maneuverability of a pistol" he explained showing it off.

"Next we have a rifle, it packs the power of a Thompson but can be altered to be a sniper" he moved a scope from the right onto the top and extended the barrel with an attachment on the left.

"We have this bo-staff for you here made specifically for you with some of the strongest metals on earth" he extended the staff from its smaller size "It also can bend enough for you to be able to use it like a pole-vault. This button here will open the left end of it and this button will fire a bullet out, use it sparingly it only carries three" he explained showing him the buttons "When you are in a bind press and hold this button to protect yourself" he stated pushing the button, a shield came out covering Stark"

"I am impressed Stark, anything else?"

"Lastly I have this sword made from Adamantium, the strongest metal known to man. Completely unbreakable" he said holding the blade out for him to see "Go ahead and try it out"

Shepard expertly waved the blade around himself tossing it between his hands before cutting a table in half with it "This is beautifully weighted" he observed.

"Lastly I have taken the suit you were wearing and decided to upgrade to give you more protection from Hydra's advanced tech" he explained pointing to a suit of armor made similarly to his old one, only this one had a lot more metal in it and a lot less cloth.

"Stark, I couldn't ask for better equipment" he said patting him on the back "You truly outdid yourself"

"Glad you approve, you will be putting it to a lot of use over the next few months"

"I don't doubt it"

* * *

"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked as Shepard removed his helmet.

"You were young, I had just eaten and you made me get sick" Shepard answered looking at him with a smirk.

"This isn't payback, is it?" Bucky asked looking at the zip-line reaching over the train tracks.

"Now why would I do that?" he answered smiling turning to face Jones.

"We were right. Dr. Zola's on the train. Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad" Jones reported.

Shepard placed his helmet over his head walking over to Falsworth watching through binoculars.

"Let's get going, because they're moving like the devil" Falsworth supplied.

"We only got about a 10-second window. You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield" Shepard explained.

"Mind the gap" Falsworth warned.

"Better get moving, bugs!" Dugan mocked.

Shepard, Bucky, and Jones zip-lined onto the train. Opening a door, Shepard entered the train followed by Bucky. Looking around they noticed the train was surprisingly empty. Stepping into the next car the doors closed trapping Bucky on the other side and Shepard unable to help.

Men entered the car Bucky was in, he fired his weapon taking cover behind a small shelf. Shepard turned around upon hearing a familiar humming he saw a man holding two Hydra cannons firing them. Shepard rolled out of the way behind a crate using it as cover.

"Stop him! Fire Again!" Zola yelled over the PA.

Shepard jumped over a blast headed for him and charged with his shield out smacking him head on, once on the ground the shield retracted. Smacking him in the face with one end of the staff knocked him unconscious. Shepard used the cannon to blast the door controls opening one door.

Running into the room he pulled a pistol and opened the door. Tossing the pistol to Bucky he kicked a crate on one of the shelves sliding it toward the guard. Moving out of the way Bucky shot him with the pistol taking him down.

"I had him on the ropes"

"I know you did"

A familiar hum sounded behind them. "Get down!" Shepard yelled blocking the blast with the shield knocking him down, the blast deflected blasting a hole in the train.

"Fire again! Kill him now!" Zola ordered.

Bucky picked up the staff holding the shield out in front of him another blast knocked him out of the train. Quickly standing up Shepard kicked him in the face knocking him unconscious.

Bucky hung on by a small bar on the side of the train "Bucky! Hang on!" he yelled climbing outside to get to him extending his hand out as the bar Bucky held started to come loose "Grab my hand!" Bucky reached for him as the bar cam off the train he fell screaming down into the crevice "No!" Shepard yelled watching helplessly.

* * *

"Sit down" Colonel Phillips said entering the interrogation room with a steak on a plate he set onto the table.

"What is this?"

"Steak"

"What's in it?"

"Cow. Doctor do you realize how difficult it is to get a hold of a prime cut like that out here?"

"I don't eat meat"

"Why not"

"It disagrees with me"

"What about cyanide? Does that give you the rumbly tummy too? Every Hydra agent that we've tried to take alive has crunched a little pill before we can stop him. But not you! So, here's my brilliant theory. You wanna live"

"You're trying to intimidate me Colonel"

"I brought you dinner" he countered passing a piece of paper to Zola who reads aloud "Given the variable information he has provided, and in exchange for his full cooperation, Dr. Arnim Zola is being remanded to Switzerland"

"I sent that message to Washington this morning. Of course it was encoded. You guys haven't broken those codes, have you? That would be awkward" Phillips said taking a bite of the steak.

"Schmidt will know this is a lie"

"He's gonna kill you anyway, doc. You're a liability. You know more about Schmidt than anyone. And the last guy you cost us was like a son to Commander Shepard. So, I wouldn't count on the very best of protection. There's you or Schmidt. It's just the hand you have been dealt"

"Schmidt believes he walks in the foot steps of the gods "

"Mmm" Phillips hummed dismissively taking another bite.

"Only the world will satisfy him"

"You do realize that's nuts, don't you?"

"But the sanity of the plan is of no consequence"

"And why is that?"

"Because he can do it!"

Behind the glass Shepard was struggling to preserve his self control.

"What's his target?"

"His target...is everywhere"

Slamming the door open Shepard entered the room.

"What the hell do you think-" Phillips yelled back surprised.

Grabbing Zola he slammed his head against the table "Where is he!" he yelled.

"He is in the Alps! The Alps!" he yelled shaking in fear

"Thank you for your cooperation" Shepard said slamming his head down onto the table again knocking him unconscious.

"You can't treat prisoners like that Shepard it's-"

"Sue me" he said walking out.

* * *

"Did you know my metabolism burns four times faster than the average person? I can't get drunk even when I want to" Shepard said irritably placing his empty glass onto the table.

"It wasn't your fault"

"Did you read the reports?"

"Yes"

"Then you know damn well that's not true" Shepard said darkly.

"You did everything you could. Did you believe in him? Did you respect him?"

Shepard nodded his head looking down into his glass.

"Then stop blaming yourself. Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice. He damn well must have thought you were worth it"

Shepard remained silent looking up at Peggy with determination in his eyes "I'm going after Schmidt. I'm not going to stop until all of Hydra has been taken down"

"You won't be alone" she assured.

* * *

"Johann Schmidt belongs in the bug house. He thinks he's a god. He's willing to blow half the world to prove it, starting with the U.S.A." Phillips stated.

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities. He gets across the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire eastern seaboard in an hour" Stark informed grimly.

"How much time we got?" Jones asked.

"According to my new best friend, twenty four hours. Hydra's last base is here" Phillips points to the map "In the Alps. Five hundred feet below the surface"

"So what are we supposed to do? I mean it's not like we can just knock on the front door" Morita asked.

"That's exactly what we are going to do" Shepard said with a smirk confusing everybody.

* * *

Shepard entered the courtyard at the base of the entrance on a motorcycle, jumping off he cut the tank's barrel in half with his sword, using his staff he quickly dispatched six guards while cutting the flame throwers fuel lines leaking everywhere. Guards quickly surrounded him with their weapons drawn on him.

Raising his hands in surrender dropping his weapons he yelled "You got me!" feigning fear.

Being brought before Schmidt with his hands tied behind his back.

"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait, but I must say you do it better than anyone. But there are limits to what even you can do, Commander"

"Red! I have to say you need to talk to a plastic surgeon I bet it'd work wonders on that mug-"

"Silence!" he yelled punching him in the gut sending him to his knees.

"Erskine always resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he was willing to give you everything. So, what made you so special?"

"I think you have been hanging around in the sun too much, you have the worst sunburn I have-"

"Enough!" Schmidt yelled beating Shepard brutally in a rage.

"My DNA was what made the serum stable Schmidt, the serum never belonged to you. You just stole it because you believe your better than everyone. Bu that's where your wrong"

Schmidt screamed in rage and began beating Shepard with whatever he could get his hands on.

"I can do this all day"

"Of course you can" Schmidt said in between breaths "Unfortunately I am on a tight schedule" he added pointing his energy pistol at him.

"So am I"

Shepard's team smashed through the window into the weapons lab, Shepard flips backwards over the guards behind him avoiding Schmidt's gunfire as he runs out of the room.

Shepard followed behind him after getting free of his bindings "Hail Hydra! Cut off one head two more will-" a Hydra guard yelled receiving a shotgun blast to his chest from Colonel Phillips.

"Let's go find two more"

Schmidt's plane was taking off faster than Shepard could catch up, hearing a car horn from behind him he saw Phillips and Carter in the Red Skull's car "Get in!" Phillips yelled.

Pulling alongside the plane Shepard prepared to jump Peggy kissed him on the cheek for good luck "Go get him, Commander" Shepard turns sporting a smirk.

"I'm not kissing you!" Phillips yelled.

Shepard boarded the plane and fought his way to the cockpit, slowly entering with his rifle in hand he scanned the room finding no sign of Schmidt his shoulders relaxed. A hum from behind him made him jump to the left to avoid the blast that shattered the glass of the cockpit.

"You don't give up do you?!" Schmidt yelled looking for him.

"Nope!" he yelled kicking the gun out of his hand. Followed by two punches to his face, Schmidt countered with a jab to the ribs then the head. Throwing Shepard to the right he kicked him in the chest. Grabbing his leg as he kicked, he punched his leg knocking him down.

Shepard picked him back up to be hit hard in the chest and then hit in the face with small canister. Kicking Schmidt away he landed on the controls making the plane dive forward throwing them both back against the ceiling.

Schmidt kicked Shepard in the chest sending him away as he flung himself into the pilot seat activating autopilot.

"You could have the power of the Gods!" he yelled firing his pistol at him "Yet you choose to believe you are fighting a battle of nations!" he continued firing "I have seen the future Commander! There are no flags!"

"Not my future!" Shepard yelled hitting him in the chest with his staff. Schmidt flew into the machine holding a cube, it rose out of the machine sending waves of energy in each direction.

"What have you done? No!" he yelled picking up the cube. It continued sending energy waves in every direction. An image of space appeared above them, Schmidt's body became encased in the a burst of energy. Screaming he vanished as the cube stopped falling to the floor melting through the metal and falling downwards.

"Shepard? Is that you? Are you alright?" Peggy asked over the radio.

"Schmidt's dead, I think. The cube disintegrated him or something"

"What about the plane?"

"I have taken it off autopilot, the controls are too damaged to land it. I can direct it to the water and jump out, I'm counting on you guys to come find me" he reported.

"I'll call Howard! I will get him out there as soon as possible" Peggy said over the radio.

"Tell him to be quick this is some cold water" he joked running towards the back of the plane. Finding a hole in the plane he approached it looking down to the water below him "Right, a few hundred foot drop and no chute. This is going to suck" he mused jumping from the plane.

* * *

Shepard awoke in a hospital bed, looking around frantically trying to remember where he was "Nurse!" he yelled in a panic.

"Commander? Your awake!" a nurse said happily walking inside.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"You are in a hospital in New York. You had quite a nasty fall"

"Is there a phone I can use?"

"Yes it's just down the hall" she pointed to her right.

"Thank you" he said quickly moving past her and dialing a number "Peggy? It's Shepard we need to talk"

A loud crash was heard from behind him, he turned to see Peggy standing there with a vase of flowers scattered on the floor "Shepard? You're awake! I can't believe it!" she yelled grabbing him into a hug.

"The doctors said you might never wake up" she said relieved breaking the hug.

"How long was I out?"

"Three months"

Shepard looked at her in disbelief

"What's wrong?"

"I have never been out for more than an hour"

"Really? Howard and I were beginning to get worried"

"Shepard!" Howard yelled upon seeing him "My friend! When did you wake up?"

"About five minutes ago"

"Good to see you are up, Phillips was starting to look like he might cry if you didn't wake up"

"That I would pay to see"

"Carter and I got you a position as an SSR agent if your interested"

Shepard thought about it for a minute "I suppose it's better than sitting around at home drinking myself to death. I will have to speak to the Chief first"

"No problem, I will make a call to set a meeting up with you two. Otherwise you start next week" Howard said walking outside and running to his car.

"I can drive you home if you'd like. It could give us time to catch up"

"Sounds delightful" Shepard accepted opening the door for her.

"Lovely" she said getting inside the car, Pulling onto the street after he entered the passenger "So what's happened since I went to sleep"

"Colonel Phillips retired from the military and took the position of SSR Director. Hydra has been completely dismantled the only surviving member being Zola, I was given a secretary position at the SSR local office here in New York. Howard is also working on some type of special project he wont tell anyone about"

"That honestly doesn't surprise me, except for the secretary part. What's made that happen?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. The men down at the office are all just misogynistic pigs!" she yelled in annoyance.

"I am going to need to have a very long talk the Chief then"

"What for?"

"To make him reassign you as my partner of course"

"Partner?" she gasped in shock "You would do that for me?"

"No, I am doing it for me. I don't trust anyone else to watch my back and keep me from getting shot like you can Carter. Purely a selfish act" he said stoically.

Smiling knowingly at him she spoke up "Thank you Shepard, you have no idea what that means to me"

"Think nothing of it" he said with a small smile gracing his face.

* * *

 **Chapter two! I hope you all liked it, I know this one was mostly just following the movie. I promise they won't all be movie chapters! Just some of them.**


	3. I am Iron Man

**This is the chapter we introduce Tony Stark! (Obviously, just look at the title) Hope you all like it, I will be making this chapter much shorter than the last one.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter three: I am Iron Man**

Shepard and Peggy Carter worked closely together for a few years as Agents of the SSR with the help of Howard Stark, his butler Edwin Jarvis and his wife Anna Jarvis. They saved many lives and put over 100 criminals and terrorist behind bars. Eventually they founded the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division in 1950. Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Colonel Phillips, and Commander Shepard were credited as the four founders with Carter being placed as the agency's director. In 1970 Tony Stark was born, Shepard formed a very close familial bond with him, being there when Howard couldn't be. Which was a lot.

In 1989 Hank Pym left for trying to replicate his formula for what he called the 'Pym particle'. Shepard started to become disheartened at the thought that it could be becoming something worse than what it was meant to be. Howard Stark and his wife Marie died in a car accident in 1991 when Tony turned 21 leaving the Stark fortune to him. Shepard left to help him though this dark time in his life giving him a shoulder to lean on, although never giving up his connection to their database. Shepard never missed one of Tony's birthdays or graduations from school always supporting him when he created things even if they were weapons.

In the early months of 2010 Tony went to a weapon demonstration in Afghanistan for his new product, he went missing when the convoy was attacked by an unknown terror cell. Three months later Shepard gets a call from James Rhodes that they found him and were bringing him home. Walking off the plane Tony saw a gurney get pulled up next to him with only a broken arm.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them" he said with a dismissive wave. Tony walked over to his assistant Pepper Potts "Hmm, your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting" she joked.

"Yeah, vacation's over" he said stepping past her over to Shepard. "You look like shit"

"Nice to see you too Tony" he said with a smile pulling him into a hug.

"If it makes you feel any better you smell like shit too" Tony joked returning the hug with his good arm.

"You go missing in Afghanistan for three months and expect me to be in top form? You have high standards Stark" he said pulling him towards the car.

"Where to sir?" Harold 'Happy' Hodge asked from the driver seat.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy" Pepper answered.

"No" Tony ordered.

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital" she insisted.

"No is a complete answer"

"The doctor has to look at you"

"I don't HAVE to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I WANT to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other..."

"That's enough of that"

"Is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now"

"Call for a press conference?"

"Yeah"

"What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first" he ordered.

"Good to have you back" Shepard said with a small smile as they pulled away.

* * *

"Ms. Potts?" a man in a suit asked approaching her.

"Yes?"

"May I speak to you for a moment?"

"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now"

"I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division" he said holding out his card to her.

"That's quite a mouthful" she said surprised.

 _They aren't looking to recruit Tony are they? No 'he' wouldn't be that stupid with me watching his every move_

"I know. We're working on it"

"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..."

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape"

"I'll put something in the books, shall I?"

"Thank you"

 _So they are interested in something other than Stark himself, or they believe he is guilty of something and need proof. Either way I am going to find out what they know_

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can...A little less formal and..." Tony said siting in front of the podium.

"What's up with the love-in?" James asked Pepper

"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to"

"I never got to say goodbye to my father" Tony said staring blankly "There's questions I would have asked him. I would've asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had any doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels"

 _Where are you going with this Tony?_

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability"

"Mr. Stark?" many of the reporters asked.

"Hey Ben" he said pointing to one of the reporters he knew.

"What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up" he said walking behind the podium "And that is why, effective immediately. I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International" he said causing the press to go crazy with questions and Stane to try and remove him from the stand.

"Until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country as well" he said walking off the podium and leaving through the crowd.

Shepard stood in shock at what he had just said, a small smile slowly playing on his lips "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever! We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up" Stane said over the microphone straining to hide his displeasure.

"That was the dumbest thing I have ever seen you do" Shepard said getting into the car.

"I don't want a lecture-"

"But it was also the bravest and most noble thing I have ever seen you do. I am proud of you" he finished looking back at him.

"Thanks...that means a lot from you" he said sincerely.

"It better, because you just painted a target on your back. Stane isn't going to let this go without a fight"

* * *

Shepard sat on the couch watching the latest news on Tony's move to decommission weapon manufacturing in his company drinking a small glass of scotch. his phone started ringing, reading 'Tony' as the caller he answered.

"Can't even come up stairs and-"

"Shepard! How big are your hands?"

"Excuse me?"

"Get down here I need you" he said hanging up.

Shepard rose from his spot on the couch and walked down the stairs.

"Hey"

"What do you need my hands for?"

"Show me your hands"

Shepard held his hands in front of him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed"

"Are you looking to get smacked?" Shepard asked irritated.

"No, I just need your help for a second"

"Is that the thing keeping you alive?" Shepard asked referring to the device in his chest.

"It was. It is now an antique. This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump"

"What do you need?"

"There is an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short. It's fine" he explained taking the device out of his chest. Handing it to Shepard he placed it on the table behind him.

"I just want you to reach in, and you're just going to gently lift the wire out"

"Is this safe?" Shepard asked concerned.

"Ya, it should be fine. It's like operation. Just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes beep"

"We used to play that when you were six" he said slowly reaching in.

"Just gently lift the wire. The copper wire"

"I got it"

"Just don't touch the SIDES!" he yelled as it touched the side "When your coming out, that's what I was trying to tell you before"

"Sorry"

"Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't-" he started to explain as Shepard pulled on the wire taking the magnet out with it "-There's a magnet at the end of it! That was it. You just pulled it out"

"Relax your fine"

"Okay, I was not expecting you to do that"

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout lure"

"Don't be so dramatic" Shepard said back placing the new device into his chest "You're going to attach that to the baseplate, and make sure you-" he explained as he placed it in. Tony yelled out in surprise when it attached.

"Was that so hard? That was fun right?"

"Please don't ever ask me to do something like that ever again" he said as Pepper walked down the stairs.

"I don't have anyone else but you"

"Your all I have too"

"Thank you that will be all" he said getting up from the chair and grabbing his shirt.

"What is this?" she asked picking up the old device from the table.

"Stark's heart" Shepard joked turning to leave.

Pepper realized what he meant when she saw the device in his chest as he put the shirt on "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Destroy it. Incinerate it"

"You don't want to keep it?"

"Pepper, I've been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them"

* * *

"Pepper? Why do you sound out of-"

"Shepard! Obadiah Stane, he paid to have Tony killed!"

"What do you mean he paid to have him killed?"

"I'm telling you I saw the video!"

"Pepper, slow down...why did he order to have him killed?"

"He was giving weapons to the terrorist group that kidnapped him"

"Where is Tony now?"

"I don't know. He's not answering his phone. Please go over there and make sure everything is okay"

"I am on my way, call Rhodey I have a feeling this might get out of hand and we may need a cover story"

"Thank you Shepard, I am with Agent Coulson and some of his guys we are going after Stane" she said hanging up.

Shepard made a U-turn across traffic and pulled out an app that was tracing Tony's phone "He is still at home" he put his foot on the gas.

* * *

"Tony? Tony?" Shepard yelled running in the front door. Running down the stairs into his lab through a broken glass window.

"Tony!" he yelled seeing him sprawled on the ground "Tony, you okay?" he asked turning him over.

"Where's Pepper?" he asked grabbing his arm.

"She's fine, she is with five agents. They are on their way to arrest Obadiah"

"That's not going to be enough" he said worriedly.

Tony got suited up quickly in his armor

"That is the coolest thing I have ever seen"

"Not bad huh? Let's do it"

"You need me to do anything else?"

"Tell Rhodey to keep the skies clear" he answered flying through a hole in the roof.

"Damn" he said amazed, looking to his right he saw another suit only silver "Not my style" he said to himself stepping into a car and driving towards the arc reactor.

* * *

"Iron Man. That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it. I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imaginary, anyway" Tony said reading the newspaper.

"You just love trying to give me a heart condition don't you Tony" Shepard said entering the room.

"Everyone suffers from something in their old age" he said with a smirk.

"Here's you alibi" Coulson handed Tony cards.

"Okay"

"You were on your yacht"

"yeah"

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from fifty of your guests"

"See I was just thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island"

"That's what happened"

"Alright"

"Just read it, word for word"

"There's nothing about Stane here"

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record"

"But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my...I mean, is that...That's kind of flimsy, don't you think?""

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement and soon this will all be behind you. You've got ninety seconds" he said turning to leave.

"Oh, Agent Coulson. I just wanted to say thank you very much for all your help"

"That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us"

"From the Strategic Homeland-"

"Just call us SHIELD"

"Finally!" Shepard yelled looking to Coulson.

"Right" Pepper said as Coulson walked out.

"We are still putting the evidence against Stane online for everyone to see right? He isn't getting away with this scot-free?" Tony asked.

"He is dead Tony, he isn't going to get away scot-free from anything" Shepard said rising to leave.

Following Coulson out of the room "Coulson!" he called grabbing his attention.

"I want to apologize for being mistrusting with you, not everyone at SHIELD is as trustworthy as you have proven yourself to be"

"That's quite alright Commander, I am a big fan. I don't know why you left SHIELD but I know you helped found it and your work against Hydra and for the SSR makes you instantly trustworthy in my book" Coulson said containing his excitement.

"That's very kind of you, just tell him to stay away from my business and we will be fine"

"Him?"

"Your boss" Shepard said turning towards the TV

"The truth is...I am Iron Man" Tony said to the crowd receiving an uproar of questions from them.

Coulson's eye twitched in annoyance, Shepard smirked shaking his head "That egotistical son of a bitch. He just couldn't help himself"

"We will be in touch" Coulson said walking out.

* * *

Shepard's phone rang as he entered his apartment placing the keys on the counter "Shepard" he answered.

"We need to talk" was the response he received.

"When?"

"Now" Nick Fury said stepping out from behind a wall hanging up the phone.

"Nicky, it's good-"

"That's Director Fury to you" he said stoically.

"I take it this isn't a social call"

"No it isn't, I came here to talk to you about something important"

"I really don't know if I care, if you remember I left SHIELD"

"If you truly didn't care you wouldn't be keeping as close an eye on us as you have. That's right, I know you still have access to our database. Besides I already talked to Stark"

"About what?"

"Firstly about being an egotistical asshole. Secondly...The Avenger's Initiative"

"I'm listening" Shepard said leaning against the wall.

* * *

 **That's all for now guys!**


	4. Strike with Fury

**This chapter needs no introduction! Enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter four: Strike with Fury**

"Look Fury, your little team of superhero's is nice and all. I just don't think I'm the guy to lead the team, I'm not even a superhero"

"I am not looking for superhero's. I am looking for extraordinary individuals, you just so happen to be perfect for the position"

"I left SHIELD for a reason"

"A reason no one knows but you. I'm not asking you to come back to SHIELD, but if the world is in dire need of help. Will you answer the call?"

Shepard stared at him with calculating eyes "I am not interested, I'm no hero"

"Commander, do you remember when we met?"

"Yes of course. I remember you still had both eyes then..."

* * *

 **(Flashback)**

1986

"Agent Shepard, please have a seat" Alexander Pierce offered with a kind smile.

"I'll stand"

"As you wish, I have a mission for you"

"Details"

"An ex-Nazi scientist has come under the employ of the KGB. He is secretly trying to recreate the super soldier serum that Erskine created. He recently had a breakthrough, he created a serum for the KGB's Red Room program. They are a fairly new program training spies and assassins to blend in and kill a target without ever being suspected"

"I'm assuming you want me to shut down his lab and capture him?"

"Yes, make sure you bring a sample of his serum back with you"

"Will this be a solo mission?"

"Yes, I need you to go here" he said pointing to a screen with a map of Germany on it.

"Mexico? Since when did the KGB set up shop there?"

"They haven't, there is a man there I want you to find. He's known as bird, he is an arms dealer who has been secretly supplying the Red Room program with weapons and chemicals for the synthesis of the serum"

"I see"

"You will find him, make him tell you where he has been sending the equipment. Find the Red Room program and capture Dr. Braun and his serum. Report back here for debriefing when you are finished"

"Shouldn't I try to shut down this Red Room program? If they are training assassins and spies, I could put a stop to it"

"Find out anything you can about it, I leave it to your discretion how to handle that situation when you come to it"

"Understood"

* * *

Shepard snuck behind two guards talking to each other not noticing him behind them, smashing their heads together knocked them out as he approached a ridge he looked with a single binocular lens to see a man fitting Bird's description with a small army of guards surrounding the building.

 _That guy sure isn't going to be easy to get past_

Two men approached behind Shepard weapons drawn

"Hands up!" two men yelled pointing their guns at him, raising his hands he turned quickly disarming the two men before noticing they were dressed in suits.

"Who are you?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am an Agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division"

"That's a mouthful"

"We're working on it. Mind telling me what the hell you two are doing here?"

"We were sent here to track bird, you?"

"I am here to find him as well, I need information out of him"

"Agent Nick Fury, this is Agent Aleksander Quinn. CIA" one greeted extending his hand to Shepard.

"Agent John Shepard, Russian Quinn?"

"Yes"

"If you wouldn't mind, I need to squeeze him for information before he runs off"

"We can't let you do that, we have been trying to find out who has been paying him enough to afford all this. If you go running in there and break some bones looking for information all our work will have been for nothing" Fury explained.

"I already know who he is, his name is Dr. Braun. He's been buying weapons and chemicals from him for a secret project for the KGB"

"What kind of project?"

"I am afraid that's classified"

"Of course it is we can't trust this guy, I say we bring him in" Quinn suggested.

"Brining me in will only stall me for a few hours before I either break out or get bailed out by my boss and I am back out here searching for Bird yet again. Why don't we save us some both time and just work together to take down Bird?"

"Sounds fine to me" Fury agreed.

"We're really going along with this?" Quinn said in shock with anger written all over his face.

"Yes, now let's get in there and grab our man before he leaves"

They lowered themselves into a prone position. Shepard watched a truck with two men inside and a third on the back drive up beneath them.

"You have been watching this place for awhile. What's security look like?" Shepard asked.

"If we move fast we will only have to deal with the guards on foot" Fury asked.

"How many of those are there?" Quinn asked hesitantly.

Shepard placed his binocular back in its place and jumped silently off the ridge quickly approaching the truck.

"Don't know about the numbers inside, but there are about eight marching the perimeter. On my signal we-Oh for fuck sake" Fury deadpanned turning to see Shepard running towards the truck while another approached with three men in it "We gotta move" he ordered quickly following.

Upon seeing Shepard the guard on the back began hitting the roof grabbing their attention "Intruder! There!" he pointed. Shepard shot the man in front of him the slid over the hood kicking the next guard onto the hood of the other as it came to a stop. Swinging a knife wildly at him, Shepard deflected his strike and jumped onto his back landing on the truck hood. Separating his legs to avoid being stabbed as the knife embedded into the hood. Shepard smacked his hands together on each side of his head then punched his arm snapping it.

Rolling over his back he caught the knife as it fell, picking his rifle back up he threw the knife into the shoulder of the guard on the back of the truck. Firing his weapon into the guard who previously had the knife, he kicked the truck door back closed hitting the guard in the face with it as he stepped out before shooting the driver. Hearing another truck accelerating towards him he dropped his rifle and drew his handguns firing at the driver and passenger hitting his mark dropping them as he ran towards the truck. Running over the hood as it came to a stop he jumped into the guard on the back grabbing him by the throat he placed his right arm behind his neck as he pulled him down from his standing position, safely making sure his neck didn't break with his arm supporting it.

"So much for subtlety" Fury said approaching Shepard.

"Subtle isn't really my thing" he answered picking up his weapons.

"I can't believe it. You just tore through those guys like it was nothing" Quinn said in shock.

"Not my first rodeo, Quinn"

"Are any of them even still alive?" Fury asked looking around.

Shepard fired his pistol into the guard he took out last "They all are. I have nonlethal rounds. C'mon we need to head inside before they notice their guards are missing"

* * *

Entering the building after taking down multiple guards once inside they covered all the exits the target could've tried to escape by, Bird had no where to run.

"How long have you two been partners?" Shepard asked leading them through a door as he checked around a corner.

"Nearly twelve years now" Fury answered checking the other corner.

"You work well together"

Entering the room with Bird and his guards the quickly hid behind the pillars for cover.

"Welcome! I am so glad to see you have finally arrived I was worried that you might not-" Bird started announcing.

Shepard stepped out from behind the pillar with his pistol drawn shooting all the guards knocking them unconscious.

"Shit!" he yelled reaching for his pistol.

Shepard grabbed his arm snapping the bone with a single movement of his arm, Bird screamed in pain falling to the floor. Pulling the him to his feet he grabbed him by the throat holding him up one handed. "Where have you been shipping your weapons and chemicals!" he yelled in his face.

"We can't interrogate him like this, it's illegal. We need to bring him back to base have him sent into the states where we can get-" Quinn protested.

"We do that and it will be months before we get the information I need" he answered slamming Bird into the wall "Tell me where!"

"They were being sent to a boat out in the Pacific somewhere, I can give you the coordinates, I never met anyone in person only picked them up off my boat"

Shepard dropped him knocking him out with a punch to the face "Thank you for your cooperation"

* * *

"So now you're going out to this boat?"

"That's the plan"

"We're coming with you" Quinn said suddenly surprising them both "What? We already got Bird, now we just need to grab the guy he's supplying"

"You heard him, get in the boat" Shepard ordered, they quickly sped towards the coordinates.

Arriving at the boat they climbed aboard to find it seemingly abandoned.

"Something doesn't feel right here" Fury said as the entered the lower decks.

Reaching the cargo room they were ambushed. Shepard used the extra armor on his back to defend Quinn and Fury from a barrage of bullets headed toward them. Fury fired back at them from around Shepard taking down three men as they ran for cover. Following suit they ended up in a stalemate with the four remaining guards.

"Cover me" Shepard said to Fury as he pulled his staff out and used his shield to approach them. knocking one down he retracted the shield hitting one with the left end and the right end hitting the one on the ground knocking them out. Shepard turned to the last two who turned to fire at him. One went down getting a bullet to the head from Fury and the second was shot from a bullet from Shepard's staff.

"Excellent work Fury. Quinn, did you freeze up or something?" he asked looking to him as he hid behind a crate.

"Sorry, my weapon jammed. But you seem to have had it handled"

Shepard watched him suspiciously before nodding and leading them further into the ship. They entered the lab to find Dr. Braun trying to pack his his gun on him "Dr. Braun! Put your hands in the air and step away from the console"

Doing as he was told he saw the three of them standing with their weapons drawn "Quinn?" he asked in shot Braun in the head, turning he smacked Shepard with the butt of his gun and jabbed his combat knife into Fury's direction stabbing him near the screamed in pain trying to fight him off. Quinn fired his weapon into the lab destroying the vials of serum. Shepard grabbed Quinn and threw him off of Fury, pulling him up by the throat he asked "Who are you working for!? Why did you kill Braun and destroy the serum?!"

"When the KGB wants their program to remain a secret, then it will remain a secret" he answered popping one of his teeth loose.

"No!" Shepard yelled reaching into his mouth and pulling out the tooth "You're not taking the easy way out asshole" he said smashing his head against the wall knocking him unconscious.

Shepard helped Fury up off the ground while giving him a cloth to put over his eye "Thanks, can't believe Quinn was a Russian spy"

"He did seem rather hesitant to do anything up until coming to this boat, which happened to be an ambush"

"It makes sense when you put it like that"

Shepard entered the lab looking around he noticed the vials all to be broken "Serum I was sent after is gone, that's probably for the best" he said to picking up a file and opening it. Inside he found pictures of children who were made into recruits for the Red Room program.

"Oh, god" he said disgusted.

"What?" Fury asked looking over his shoulder seeing the file.

"They are recruiting children right out of their homes, forcing them to train to become assassins and spies. Those that can't cut it die" he explained.

"That's horrible"

"Yes it is, I need to get back to my director and tell him about this. This program needs to be shut down" he said walking out of the room file in hand.

* * *

"So you're leaving then?"

"Yes, I should be getting back to headquarters, I need to debrief"

"I understand, thanks for saving my life back there. That was more hectic than I expected"

"Anytime, I will be in touch. You handled yourself well today and we could use people like you on our side"

"I'll think about it"

"That's all I can ask" he said walking towards his car.

"Thank you, for your help today. We never would've gotten Bird with as many men alive as we did with your help"

"Goodbye, Nicky" he said with a smirk as he pulled away in his car.

Fury looked to the card Shepard gave him on the back it said 'I got my eye on you' he smirked looking back at the car driving away.

"Maybe I should join the Strategic Homeland...still a mouthful" he said with a shake of his head.

* * *

"Director Pierce"

"Agent Shepard, come in"

"I regret to inform you that Dr. Braun is dead and his serum destroyed" he said placing the file on the table.

"What is this?"

"Red Room's recruits. I highly recommend we get someone on top of this as soon as possible"

"I agree, but first tell me what happened. Failing a mission doesn't usually happen with you Shepard"

"When I went to find Bird I found two CIA agents, Nick Fury and Aleksander Quinn. They helped me take down bird and make it to Dr. Braun safely. Unfortunately I was caught off guard when Quinn revealed himself as a KGB spy killing Braun and destroying the serum. I was able to stop him from swallowing a cyanide pill, he is currently being interrogated by the CIA"

"I see, that is unfortunate. What of this other agent Nick Fury, what became of him?"

"He was injured, he probably will be blind out of his left side for the rest of his life. He preformed expertly during my mission. I recommend him for a position here should he accept"

"High praise indeed coming from you"

"I apologize for my failure, allow me to make up for it by taking down Red Room"

"No, I have another more important task for you. We will take care of the Red Room program" he reassured.

"I need to know for myself"

"No, Shepard you need to follow orders. This mission I have for you is too important for me to trust anyone else with it"

Nodding hesitantly unsure of himself he asked "What's the mission"

Pierce smiled at hearing his words.

* * *

2010

"That was my first ever and only mission I ever had that was a failure"

"That wasn't the best day in my life I will agree, but I got to join SHIELD out of the deal. All in all I would say the day wasn't my worst"

"What does this have to do with the Avengers Initiative?"

"Not everything goes the way you want them to, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep fighting" he said standing up "Thank you for having me over Shepard, it was nice catching up. And remember I got my eye on you" he said looking at him with an intense stare before walking out.

Fury entered his car, pulling away he dialed a phone number "Coulson, I need you to contact Agent Romanoff. I have need of her for a special mission involving Mr. Stark"

* * *

 **I know this one was much shorter than the other ones but I didn't want to spend too much time with this before moving on. Hope you all enjoyed it**


	5. Black Widow's web

**Black Widow is finally here! Yay! Hope you all enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter five: Black Widow's web**

"The Expo is a gigantic waste of time" Pepper said irritated.

"I need you to wear a surgical mask until your feeling better. Is that okay?" Tony asked seriously.

"That's rude"

"There's nothing more important to me than the Expo. It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're-"

"The Expo is your ego gone crazy"

"I brought pizza" Shepard said entering the room.

"Just one second, Shepard" Pepper said holding her finger up in his direction.

"Wow. Look at that. That's modern art. That's going up" Tony said looking at a painting of Iron Man.

"You've got to be kidding"

"I'm gonna put this up right now. This is vital"

"Stark is in complete disarray. You understand that?"

"No. Our stocks have never been higher"

"Yes, from a managerial standpoint"

"You are...Well, if's messy then let's double back"

"Let me give you an example"

"Let's move onto another subject"

"No, no, no ,no. You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up"

"I'm not taking it down. I'm just replacing it with this" Tony jumps onto the desk and looks at the paintings "Let's see what we can do here"

"Okay, fine. My point is, we have already awarded contracts to the wind farm people"

"Yea. Don't say wind farm. I'm already feeling gassy"

"I can come back another time" Shepard offered.

"And to the plantation tree, which was your idea by the way. Those people are on payroll-"

"Everything was my idea"

"-And you won't make a decision"

"I don't care about the liberal agenda any more. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert" he says jumping off the desk "You do it"

"I do what?"

"Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You run the company"

"Yeah, I'm trying to run the company"

"Pepper, I need you to run the company. Well, stop trying to do it and do it"

"You will not give me the information-"

"I'm not asking you to try-"

"In order to-"

"I'm asking you to physically do it. I need you to do it"

"I am trying to do it"

"Pepper, you're not listening to me!"

"No, you are not listening to me"

"I'm trying to make you CEO. Why won't you let me?"

"Have you been drinking?"

"Chlorophyll"

"Gross" Shepard said reminding them he was there as he decided to leave the room and head upstairs.

* * *

 **(Natasha's POV)**

I walked in to see Stark in a boxing ring with another man I knew from his file as his body guard Harold Hogan. Stark elbowed happy in the face sending him back a few steps. "Sorry"

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for three weeks"

"It's called dirty boxing there is nothing new about it"

"Sometimes you have to get dirty to win happy, someone trying to rob or kill you isn't going to play fair" a man said startling me.

 _I didn't even notice him in the room! Not many people can hide their presence from me let alone sneak up on me. I better keep my eye on him_

"See? He knows what he is talking about"

"I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company" Pepper said to Tony.

"I need you to initial each box" I said handing her the folder in my hand.

Hogan taps Tony on the back of the head with a light punch "Lesson one. Never take your eyes off-"

Tony kicked him sending him into the corner of the ring punching him several times in the chest "That's it. I'm done. What's your name lady?" he asked me stepping out of the ring.

The unknown man elbowed him in the side "Excuse him he is not housebroken"

I stopped myself from laughing showing only a small smile "Rushman. Natalie Rushman" I said extending my hand to him.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Rushman" he said accepting but not giving his name in return.

"Front and center. Come into church" Tony said pointing to the ring.

 _He's smart enough to not give his name out to just anyone and he is skillful enough to make no sound when he walks. This guy has had an enormous amount of training or experience, maybe both_

"No, you're seriously not ask-" Pepper said shaking her head.

"If it pleases the court, which it does"

"It's no problem" I told her walking to the ring.

"Can you give her a lesson?"

"No problem"

The man was watching me closely, not showing anything in his expression. I was beginning to become uncomfortable, not accustomed to being unable to read someone.

"You ever boxed before?"

"I have, yes"

"What, like, the Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that?"

This man was annoying "How do you spell your name, Natalie?" Stark asked distracting me from the annoying man.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N"

Stark began looking up my file, I wasn't worried knowing Fury set me up with a cover. Or at least I wasn't, until the guy from before started reading through it and got a amused look on his face. I wondered if it was my 'modeling' picture he saw.

"She's fluent in French, Italian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?" I heard Stark ask. So he hasn't seen that yet. What made him have that look, I wondered.

"No one speaks Latin. It's a dead language" Pepper answered

"I speak Latin" the man said surprising everyone present, myself included.

"Did you model in Tokyo? Cause she modeled in Tokyo"

"Rule number one, never take your eyes off your opponent" Hogan said taking a swing at me. I grabbed his hand and flipped him over with my legs over his head.

"Oh, my God! Happy" Pepper yelled in shock.

"That's what I'm talking about" Tony cheered.

"I just slipped"

"You did?"

"Yeah" he says looking to be in pain.

"One hell of a slip Harold" the man said with a small smirk on his face.

"I need your impression" I told Stark.

"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul"

"I meant your fingerprint"

"Right"

"So, how are we doing?" Pepper asked.

"Great. Just wrapping up here. Hey. You're the boss"

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?" I asked wanting to leave.

"No"

"Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman. Thank you very much"

I quickly leave wanting to get away from the man watching me. As I approached the front door I noticed a presence behind me. Swinging my right leg around at whomever decided to follow me.

The man from before caught my leg and knocked my off my feet with his own and pinning me against the floor loosely so I could easily escape if I wanted.

"I know your not from Stark's legal department and I know you are a spy for someone. The question is who. I honestly don't care so long as you aren't here to harm Stark in anyway, that includes financially"

"I am not here to harm Mr. Stark" I said truthfully.

"Good. Then we won't have a problem" he said offering his hand to me. I accepted his offer standing up he whispered to me "Tell Fury those modeling pictures need some work" I looked at him in complete shock "How do you know I am with SHIELD?"

"They are the only ones who would send a spy after Stark while I am around and not be here to kill him or steal his suits" he answered opening the front door for me "Have a nice day Ms. Rushman" he said with a genuine smile.

"You still haven't told me your name" I said walking out the door.

"I figure you'll find out if you really want to know" he said closing it behind me.

Walking to my car I pulled out my phone making a call as I stepped inside.

"Hill, I need to speak to Fury. It's important"

"Agent Romanoff? Is there a problem?" he asked answering the phone.

"I was just at Stark's house and there was a man there that I don't recognize from any of the personnel files you gave me"

"What's his name?"

"I don't know, he never gave it. He's skilled though, he was able to sneak up on me and quickly pin me to the floor without hurting me. He also knew I was a spy without me saying more than two words to him"

"Does he know who your spying for?"

"He said to tell you 'The modeling pictures need some work' he knew your name"

"I know who he is and I want you to ignore him. He's not your target or your concern, and he won't tell anyone who you are if he knows you are working for SHIELD. As long as you don't provoke him that is"

"What's his name?"

"Johnathan Shepard, don't waste your time looking at his file" he ordered hanging up.

 _Waste my time? What did he mean by that? I am going to look at his file anyway. I need to know who I am dealing with here_

* * *

"You look amazing" Shepard said approaching me.

"Thank you, that's sweet of you to say"

"Don't pretend you don't hear that all the time" he said with a wink.

Turning away from him I smirked "Ya, people tend to try to bed me a lot" I said honestly "Sometimes it gets annoying" I said turning to look at him. I was shocked to see he wasn't there.

 _I am never going to get used to that_

I looked to the TV to see a man with two electrical whips slice a car in half.

 _I Suppose that's why he ran off so quickly_

Watching the TV, Tony's car was sliced apart he got out before being killed by the man. A car came from the opposite direction the race cars were going, the car rammed the man into the fence while Stark jumped onto the fence.

Stark looked to be yelling at the driver before the car is practically cut in half by the man. Shepard stepped out of the driver seat with a red case throwing it to Stark it turned into parts of the Iron Man armor.

Shepard drew a gun pointing it at the man as he came out from in front of the car. The whip cut it apart. Shepard rolled out of the way of another attack, he rolled back to avoid a second one. Slipping on a shred of the car he fell on his back. The attacker sent another attack his way, Shepard slid backwards separating his legs to avoid it.

Stark attacked the man with his suit finally on. The whips attached to his armor as he slammed him into the ground and then the hood of the car. Shepard charged the man hitting him in the back of the head with a piece of the car.

Tony used this opportunity to wrap the whip around himself pulling him closer to him. The man swung the other whip around causing Stark to duck under it. he flipped him over his shoulder and pulled the core out of his harness.

 _Shepard definitely has some combat training, I need to take a look at his file next chance I get_

The man on the TV looked to be laughing as he was being dragged away by the police.

* * *

Opening Shepard's file I was surprised by what I saw.

Johnathan Grant Shepard it read with a picture of him and a picture of him in some kind of suit of armor. Nearly all the information on the page was blacked out or read classified.

 _What the hell? There isn't anything in here that isn't classified_

Turning the page I found a small passage not blocked out that read 'recommend keep close eye on Commander Shepard, he appears to be suspicious of SHIELD's reluctance to decommission the KGB program known as the Red Room.-Director Pierce'

 _Red Room? The program I was trained in? SHIELD didn't know about that until just before sending Barton after me. Shepard wasn't part of SHIELD when I joined. Something about this doesn't make sense, and What did Pierce want him watched for?_

The rest of the page was blacked out. I called Fury quickly.

"Romanoff? What can I do for you this time?"

"I just finished reading Shepard's file-"

"I thought I told you not to waste your time"

"Sir, There isn't any information on him other than his name"

"I know"

"There isn't a place of residence or any family members. He doesn't have a birthday or age, no occupation-"

"I Know Romanoff!" he yelled silencing me.

"Why is all the information on him gone?"

"I don't know Romanoff, the file was like that when I joined SHIELD"

"Have you seen this passage from Director Pierce?" I asked suspiciously.

"Hold on...What passage are you talking about?"

"It's on the second page in the middle"

"Just a moment"

After a few moments of silence he answered back "Romanoff, there isn't any information on the second page"

"What are you looking at?"

"I am looking at the digital file"

"I have the hard copy"

"How'd you get that without me knowing?"

"I didn't Coulson did"

Fury chuckled lightly "What does it say?"

I read the passage to him "That's odd, I wasn't aware SHIELD knew of the Red Room project until after I had become Director"

"Nor was I"

"We should keep this between us for now"

"Understood sir"

"We will talk later"

* * *

Shepard answered his phone "Tony, how is the cure from your blood poisoning coming along?"

"It's done, we've got bigger problems though. Vanko is alive he isn't in prison and he is planning something at the Expo. I need you to go there get Hammer to tell you where he is and then find him"

"I am on my way" Shepard said running to his car.

Arriving at the Expo he heard gunshots and screams as Iron Man and War Machine flew out of the roof with many other smaller suits following after him.

"Guess the fireworks have already started" Shepard said to himself running inside the building to find Hammer.

"What? What do you mean it's been overridden? What does that mean?" Justin yelled angrily.

"I think he slaved the drones" the technician responded.

"That's impossible. Call the guards"

"All the phones are down sir"

"Well, then call their… Call their cells"

"Their cell phones are not working either sir"

"He's locked us out of the mainframe"

"Who's locked you out of the mainframe?" Pepper asked entering the room with Natalie.

"Please, please, go away. Go away. I've got this handled"

"Have you now?"

"Yes, I do. In fact, if your guy hadn't showed up, this wouldn't be happening. So, please, now go away. Thank you"

"Ivan Vanko! Where is he?" Shepard demanded stepping into the room.

"Excuse me? Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"You broke him out of jail and faked his death so you could make him build you those drones. Although I assume you wanted them to be able to fit a person inside but Vanko had other plans. I tracked a bird he owns back in Russia as the same type of bird you purchased earlier this week. Do I really have to spell out how this looks for you?"

"Listen, you bitches need to get out of here-" Shepard looked at Natalie and nodded in Hammer's direction. Natalie grabs him and slams him down on the table.

"Where is he?"

"At my facility!" he said back shaking in fear.

Natalie and Shepard nodded to each other as they turned to leave.

"I need NYPD, please" Pepper said holding the phone to her ear much to Hammer's protest and displeasure.

"Nobody's answering the phone. What's going on?" Happy asked.

"Get in the car. Take me to Hammer Industries" Natalie ordered.

"I'm not taking you anywhere"

"Fine. You want me to drive?" Shepard asked.

"No, I'm driving. Get in the car" he answered getting in the driver seat.

"When we arrive, I need you to watch the perimeter. We're gonna enter the facility and take down the target" Shepard explained.

Natalie began getting undressed in the back seat and dressed in her Cat-suit. Happy tried to watch but his attention went back to the road when a car honked and Shepard grabbed the wheel pulling it to the right.

"Watch the road" Natalie ordered.

" I got it. I got it"

Shepard glared darkly at the man for being both stupid and disrespectful. Happy gulped in fear of him. Arriving at the facility they stepped out of the vehicle and headed towards the door.

"Stay in the car" Natalie ordered happy

"I'm not staying in the car"

"She said, stay in the car" Shepard barked irritated.

"What are you wearing?" he asked looking at Natalie "Look, I'm not letting you two go in there alone"

"You want to help? Keep the car running" she suggested hacking the door pad.

"Okay" he said opening the door as it unlocked and attacking the guard he met at the door. Natalie slid under the second guard and tossed two disks on the floor which shocked him into unconsciousness. She jumped over a cart kicking another guard in the chest with both legs knocking him down.

Shepard casually strolled by the guards as Natalie fought them off, three guards chased after him. One swung a fist at Shepard turning he put his hand out straight, turning it down he pushed it into the mans wrist pushing the fist into the wall. Sweeping his legs out from under him with his right leg he kicked his left leg into the second guards knee while punching the first in the abdomen. Grabbing him by his hair he slammed his knee into his face while catching a punch from the third.

Pulling him towards himself he delivered a precise chop to the back of his neck knocking him unconscious. Walking past the first guard groaning on the ground he kicked him in the face knocking him out as he readjusted his suit.

Natasha finished fighting five guards at once, walking to catch up with Shepard she casually sprayed one with pepper spray. Happy finally defeats the one guard knocking him unconscious.

"I got him!" he yelled excitedly as he looked down the hallway to see Natalie and Shepard's handiwork. Natalie kicks in a door with a gun in each hand finding two dead guards and an otherwise empty room.

"He's gone" she said as her and Shepard began typing on different keyboards.

"What are you doing?" Happy asked.

"Rebooting Rhodey's suit"

"Hacking Vanko's drones"

"Reboot complete" she said as an image of Tony shows up on screen "You got your best friend back"

"Thank you very much, Agent Romanoff" Tony said smiling.

"Well done on the new chest piece. I am reading significant higher output and your vitals all look promising"

"Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying. Thank you"

"What do you mean you're not dying? Did you just say you're dying?" Pepper asked coming up on the screen.

"Is that you? No, I'm not. Not anymore"

"What's going on?"

"I was going to tell you. I didn't want to alarm you"

"You were gonna tell me? You really were dying?"

"You didn't let me"

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I was gonna make you an omelette and tell you"

"Hey, hey. Save it for the honeymoon. You got incoming Tony, I couldn't shut down the drones. Looks like the fight's coming to you" Shepard warned.

"Great. Pepper?"

"Are you okay now?"

"I am fine. Don't be mad. I will formally apologize-"

"I am mad!"

"-when I'm not fending off a Hammeroid attack"

"Fine"

"We could have been in Venice"

"Oh please"

"Heads up. You got one more drone incoming. This one looks different. The repulsor signature is significantly higher" Natalie warned.

"It's Vanko, be careful Tony" Shepard concluded turning towards the door "We should go"

"Agreed" Natalie said following with Happy behind her.

Exiting the building Shepard pulled something out of his suit jacket and aimed it at a close by building "We need to talk" he said grabbing Natalie by the waist and firing the grappling hook pulling them to the roof at an astounding speed.

"I guess, I will just drive somewhere else then" Happy said dejectedly.

* * *

"What'd you want to talk about" Natalie asked. Shepard was interrupted by Tony and Pepper landing on the roof as he yanked his mask off forcibly.

"Oh my God. I can't take this anymore" Pepper yelled exasperatedly unaware of their company.

"You can't?" Tony asked surprised.

"I can't take this"

"Look at me"

"My body, literally, cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or wreak the whole company"

"I think I did okay"

"I quit. I'm resigning. That's it"

"What did you just say? You're done? That's surprising. No, it's not surprising. I get it. You don't have to make excuses"

"I'm… I'm… I'm not making any excuses"

"You actually were just making excuses. But you don't have to"

"No, I wasn't making an excuse. I'm actually very justified"

"Listen. Hey, hey. You deserve better"

"Well-"

"You've taken such good care of me. I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it, so… Right?"

"Thank you"

"Yeah"

"Thank you for understanding"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's talk clean-up"

"I'll handle the transition. It'll be smooth"

"Okay. What about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That's gonna seem-"

Well, with you it's like dog years"

"I know"

"I mean, it's like the Presidency" They kissed for a short moment.

"Weird" Tony said unsure.

"No, it's not weird" she reassured.

"It's okay, right?"

"Yeah"

"Run that by me again" they start to kiss again.

"I think it was weird" Shepard spoke up, they broke apart and turned around to see Shepard and Natalie "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape" he added causing Natalie to struggle to contain her laughter.

"I had just quit, actually" Pepper started to explain.

"Yeah, so we're not-"

"You don't have to do that. I heard the whole thing" he said waving his hands dismissively.

"You should get lost"

"We were here first. Get a roof" Natalie said with a smirk

"I thought you were out of one-liners"

"That's the last one"

"You two kicked ass back there, by the way"

"Thank you. You too. Listen, I am going to need you to leave so I can talk to Natalie. In private"

"Not okay. Not okay with that"

"It wasn't a question" Natalie clarified. Tony took with Pepper off not wanting to anger them much to Peppers protest.

"So...we were talking about?" Natalie asked curiously.

"Nothing yet" Shepard said smirking.

"Right...What was it you wanted to talk about"

"I wanted to thank you for making Tony save himself. He was getting out of control"

"Yes he was. And your welcome"

"I assume since you were here before you knew he was sick, that you were assessing his ability to be in the Avenger Initiative"

"You know about that?"

"I know about a lot of things Fury doesn't want me to know. The Avengers is not one of them"

"So he asked you to join then"

"Yes"

"Well...would've been nice if he told me that beforehand"

"Fury doesn't tell people a lot of things. You get used to it"

"I was here to asses Stark, and I don't think he should be on the team"

"I disagree, but I understand why you would have that recommendation. I don't hold it against you" Shepard said as he turned to leave.

"You never said if you made a decision about joining"

"No, I didn't"

"Does that mean your not joining?"

"I didn't say that"

Natalie stepped in front of him stopping him before he left.

"You never asked me what my real name is"

"I figured you would tell me if you trusted me, I don't go poking in people's private lives. I just watch government agencies like SHIELD to make sure everything is on the up and up"

"Natasha Romanoff" she said as she turned to leave with a smile on his face.

"I get the feeling we are going to be seeing each other again Agent Romanoff"

"Me too" she said leaving the roof.

* * *

Shepard watched the TV seeing the award ceremony for Tony and Rhodey. Somehow he had gotten the senator that was riding his ass about the Iron Man technology to give them the awards"It is my honor to be here today to present these distinguished awards to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes and Mr. Tony Stark, who is, of course, a national treasure"

 _He certainly knows how to rub things in people's faces_

"Shepard" Natasha addressed entering the room.

Without turning around he smirked "Impressive, Not many people have found this place. Even less are able to sneak up on me in my own home.

"Thank you, Director Fury wishes to speak with you"

"You may send him in"

She nodded leaving the room. She returned with Fury.

"Shepard, I am here-"

"About the Avengers, I know"

"Then you know what I am about to ask"

"Did you know my healing ability is gone?"

"What?"

"I have had Howard Stark run some tests back in 91 just before he died. He told me my healing ability has been reduced so much that I am not only not healing as fast as I should be. But I am aging. Still can't get drunk though" he explained annoyed.

"I didn't know"

"How could you have? Stark and I were the only ones who knew. He took that secret to his grave, used to tell me that I had anywhere from 70-90 years left before I die of age. And that's if I don't get some heart disease or take a bullet"

"I'm sorry to hear that"

"I'm not, being immortal sucks"

Natasha looked surprised at that statement but didn't say a word.

"I always get to watch everyone I care about grow old and get married, have kids. All the things I have always wanted to do but couldn't"

"What do you mean couldn't?" Natasha asked curiously.

"I didn't age, therefore anyone I married would die before me. Any kids I had would have the possibility of sharing my curse, I couldn't take that chance. Even women who actually held my interest I didn't engage with because I knew how it would end"

"Now that your aging you want to?"

"Something like that. But trouble always comes around and pulls me out of retirement"

"So I take it you aren't joining the Avengers then?" Fury asked.

"Your asking me to lead the team not join it. And I didn't I wouldn't join"

"So you will then?"

"On a few conditions"

"Name them"

"I want personnel files on everyone you have considered for the team and allow me to choose the members"

"Done"

"I also want you to put Stark on the team if he accepts"

"I can do that"

"Last one, I want Agent Romanoff given the choice of joining the team"

Fury looked to a shocked Natasha "You want me on the team?"

"If you'll accept, then yes"

"Why?"

"I have seen you in action, and I am a pretty good judge of character. You would be a perfect fit"

Natasha didn't know what to say "Romanoff?"

"It would be an honor sir. I have one suggestion for the team as well"

"Who?"

"Agent Clint Barton"

Shepard pulled out a small pad and began searching him in the SHIELD database.

"You're partners. For quite a few years actually. Archer that never misses?"

"That's him"

"I like him already. Send him an invitation"

"Thank you sir"

"Don't call me sir. It makes me feel old. Just call me Commander or Shepard"

"Yes Commander. Are you the one who led the Howling Commandoes during WWII?"

"Yes"

Natasha nodded and left the room.

"Anything else you want?"

"Just the files"

"It's good to have you back Commander" Fury said shaking his hand.

"Just remember, I am not joining SHIELD so don't expect me to order me around"

"Understood" Fury said walking out the door.

 _I just signed up for a shit storm...Yet I am excited_ Shepard smirked to himself.

* * *

 **Next chapter coming soon!**


	6. Hawkeye

**This chapter is going to build upon the avengers as a whole, which will be coming in the next chapter! Hope you like it!**

 **P.S. This chapter and chapter four were suggestions made by Ryanwan, I noticed I forgot to mention that in chapter four. My apologies. Anyway Thank you Ryanwan for you suggestions!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter six: Hawkeye**

"Clint, I need to talk to you"

"Nat? Sure, what's up?"

Natasha closed the door behind her stepping into the room.

"I met someone"

"Met someone? Elaborate please"

"His name is Shepard and I know next to nothing about him but I can't get him off my mind"

"Have you looked at his file? I am sure you could find something on him in there"

"That's the thing, the only information that isn't classified is his name"

"Really? What was his name again?"

"Johnathan Shepard, his file is completely blacked out"

"I can see that, his name and a few pictures is all that's here"

"What should I do?"

"About having him stuck in your head? I don't know. Why don't you start by telling me about him and I may be able to help"

"Well...when I met him he surprised the hell out of me, he was able to sneak up on me. I couldn't get a read on what he was thinking or feeling. And he pinned me to the floor like I was some cocky recruit not a professional assassin. Nothing was wasted in his movements and he didn't even leave a mark on me, it's like he was just toying with me. Not to mention he figured out I was a spy for SHIELD and my name was fake without me saying more than two words to him"

"And that bothers you a lot?"

"Yes! Of course it bothers me. I am always in control of these situations and I always know what people are thinking so I can keep one step ahead of them. This guy is a complete enigma to me"

"What do you know about him?"

"I know that he used to be a SHIELD agent, I don't know why he left and apparently neither does Fury. I know he apparently used to have a healing ability that made him immortal and invulnerable but for some reason that isn't the case anymore. Other than that all I know is that he used to be the leader of the Howling Commandoes-"

"The Howling Commandoes? I used to go see them at the museum in DC when I was a kid"

"He's the same guy"

"What's he like? As a person I mean"

"He's...he seems like a nice person. I haven't met many people who aren't uncomfortable with who I am without knowing me for awhile. He also has this rule against killing people according to Fury"

"I think you have a crush Nat" he said with a smirk on his face.

"I don't have a crush on him. Black Widow crushes bones not on people"

"Keep telling yourself that"

"He's not the only reason I came to speak to you"

"Something other than your crush then?"

"Stop it. You have heard about the Avengers Initiative right?"

"I am aware of it"

"Well, Shepard was asked to lead the team and he accepted"

"So this is about your crush?"

"Shut it! It's not about him"

"Then get to the point"

"Shepard asked me to be a member of the team"

"Really? Did you say yes?"

"I did"

"Congratulations Nat, I don't know anyone else who deserves to be on that team"

"I do. I made a recommendation and he accepted after looking into it. So...Clint, would you like to join the Avengers?"

Barton's jaw dropped open in shock, like a fish looking for air "Nat, thank you. I would be honored to join the team"

"You should thank him. He's the one who accepted"

"Your crush seems like a nice guy"

"Ya he does" she agreed standing to leave.

"So you admit it's a crush!"

"No, I didn't" she said leaving the room.

"Didn't deny it either!" he called after her.

* * *

Shepard sat in his apartment drinking a glass of scotch looking over the files he was given regarding the Avengers. Currently he was reading the file on Thor.

"How's the team looking?" Natasha asked entering the room.

"I am going to have to ask you to knock from now on unless you want to get yourself shot" he answered back annoyed he didn't notice her.

"Apologies, I will knock from now on before I break in" she said sarcastically.

"So far I am liking what I am seeing. Thor would be a great asset to the team if he follows orders. Stark could be helpful both in the field or in a lab. Barton looks like a great asset and he won't have a problem following orders. There is only one I am on the fence about"

"Who would that be?"

"Bruce Banner. He would be a great help in a lab setting but I have met his angry green friend. Let's just say I don't see that helping in a tight situation"

"I suppose I can understand that. I have someone who would like to meet you"

"Bring him in then"

Natasha left the room quickly returning with Barton. Shepard stood from his spot extending his hand to him.

"Agent Barton"

"It's such a pleasure to meet you Commander. I have seen your armor and story in the museum in DC when I was a kid hundreds of times"

"That doesn't have the whole story, but it's got a pretty good replica of my armor" he said with a smirk.

"I am so honored that you would pick me for the team"

"Don't thank me, I never would've known about you without Agent Romanoff bringing you to my attention"

"It wasn't that big of a deal" she insisted.

"Of course not" Shepard said with a roll of his eyes "With people like Thor and Hulk being possible team members, I am happy there are some people who I can more or less relate to on the team. You and Natasha don't have any superpowers like they do you're just that good"

"The same could be said for you sir"

"Now maybe, I used to be able to take bullets and blades through me like it was nothing. Now I punch someone hard enough and I feel it later. And don't call me sir, it makes me feel old. Commander or Shepard is fine"

"Age sucks" Barton agreed "I notice you don't have Nat's file. You already seen it?"

"No, I already know everything I need to know about her. Besides she's a spy, I'm sure she doesn't want people snooping around in her file" he said looking at Natasha knowingly.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you but I have somewhere I need to be in about twenty minutes. I will be contacting you two soon" he added walking them out the door locking it behind him.

* * *

"Shepard!" Tony said happily grabbing him into a hug "We haven't seen each other since the rooftop last week"

"Indeed, I have somethings I need to talk to you about" he said sitting down in the chair across from him.

"Hit me"

"I saw you and Rhodey on the TV award ceremony from Senator asswipe" Shepard said with a smirk.

"Fury was very helpful with that" he said back grinning.

"Onto business-"

"Is that what we are doing?"

"Yes, Tony. I have two things I need to talk to you about"

"I am not getting any younger here"

"I have been asked to lead the Avengers Initiative"

"Wow, I wasn't even recommended for that you know"

"I know, Romanoff's recommendation doesn't hold any sway anymore. I had Fury put me in charge of who joins the team"

"That was awful nice of him"

"Tony, would you like to join the Avengers?"

"I accept"

Shepard smirked knowingly "I will allow you to join on two conditions"

"What are they?" he groaned.

"Firstly, I want you to hack any and every system we come into contact with and share all information with me"

"Done"

"Secondly, I need you to make me a new suit. My old one isn't as cutting edge against things like your Iron Man suit.

"I can definitely do that for you" Tony said smirking yet again.

"Let's make one thing clear, the only orders you follow are mine. Not Fury's"

"I think I can live with that. Who else is on the team?"

"Currently the only other members of the team are Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton"

"I know Romanoff but not Barton. Isn't Romanoff just a spy?"

"You haven't seen her in action" he said with a faint smile.

"That was all I needed to talk to you about" Shepard said rising to leave.

"I'll say hi to Pepper for you!" Tony called after him getting a wave back in response.

* * *

Shepard was back at his apartment looking over some files on his datapad. Picking up his phone he dialed a number.

"Romanoff, it's Shepard. Don't worry about how I got this number, get Barton and meet me at my apartment with your gear in two hours" he hung up the phone.

Shepard opened the a case hidden under the floorboards removing his armor and weapons from it "Hello old friends" he said with a small smile.

Two hours later there was a knock at his door "Door's open!" he yelled placing the final piece of his armor on. Suddenly gunfire started coming from the other side of the door. Shepard dropped to the floor being hit with multiple bullets. Entering the room they approached him as he laid on the ground, they wore completely black armor with masked helmets on concealing their faces.

"Target is neutralized" one of them said through their masks.

"Shepard?!" a voice called from outside the room causing them all to turn in surprise. Suddenly their legs were swept out from under them as Shepard rose from the floor with his pistols drawn. Firing two shots into each one as he stood up. Natasha and Barton entered the room with weapons drawn having heard the gunfire.

"Your late" Shepard says pulling the bullets out of his armor.

"Be thankful you had your armor on" Barton said lowering his bow.

"Who are these guys?" Natasha asked looking at the men on the floor.

"I assume they are with the Jade Shadow. I hacked into a classified SHIELD file, the file said they didn't know know the identity of the Jade Shadow. Turns out hacking into that file showed me who it was, I am guessing she didn't like me doing that" he explained.

"You hacked into SHIELD? Aren't you supposed to be on our side?" Barton asked confused.

"I left for a reason. Joining the Avengers was not rejoining SHIELD"

"So your just using SHIELD?"

"I am helping SHIELD, someone hacked into their database and changed the information on the file. Now I know where she is and who she is" he clarified.

"Oh...Sorry for jumping the gun" Barton apologized.

"It's fine, you have been unusually quite Romanoff. What's your take on this?"

"I think what you did makes sense. I am wondering who could've hacked our database though"

"I know it was someone within SHIELD, the person who changed the information had a level 8 security clearance" Shepard said.

"So we have a mole? Or someone looking for money?" Natasha asked.

"It could be both, it could be neither"

"What's the plan?"

"She thinks I am dead, which means she won't try and leave where she is hiding. She won't be fooled forever though, she will learn that her men are missing. We need to act fast on this"

"I'll call Coulson for-" Barton started.

"No. We don't know who is helping her on the inside right now or who they're watching"

"What's the play?"

"The three of us need to come up with a plan. Romanoff, I need you to get the schematics for the Oscorp building. Barton, I need you to get me intel on security. I'll hack into their system and make sure their cameras stay off while we are inside"

"You got it" Barton agreed.

"Child's play" Natasha said with a smirk.

"We will meet outside the Oscorp building in an hour" Shepard informed getting up and leaving.

* * *

"Where the hell is Shepard?" Natasha asked looking around as Barton approached.

"I don't know I haven't seen him"

Suddenly a man strapped to a chair with his mouth tapped shut with fear written all over his face.

"I have been busy getting the security codes" Shepard said landing next to them "This is Robert. Say hi Robert"

The man in question tried screaming for help with the tap still muffling him.

"He seems friendly" Natasha said smirking at him.

"He's a nice guy, beautiful kids. Great wife too she is so sweet. We were just talking about the biometric security"

"And what did he have to say about that?"

"Well, he was just offering to help get us through it as he is chief of security. All he asked in return is that we toss him a little something extra" he explained placing a stack of money in his pocket.

"That's so nice of him. I guess we should get going then" she suggested.

They made their way into the building using him for biometric security. Finding a room stocked full of weapons and armed guards. Shepard knocked out the chief of security by suffocating him off air until he became unconscious. At the end of the room was a throne with the statue originally placed there shattered around it with a woman sitting in the throne. She wore a red dress with black dragons decorating it. She had black hair and brown eyes.

"That's the Jade Shadow. Barton, I want you to take down the men on the catwalks as silently as you can. Romanoff same goes for you on the men on the ground"

"And what about you?"

"I'm going to make my way through the vents and get around behind her. Once all her men are down I will take her down and then we can call Coulson"

"Got it" They said simultaneously moving to their designated areas as Shepard entered the vents.

"Shepard, we have a problem"

"What is it, Romanoff?"

"There is a sniper watching from the room overlooking the throne she is in. The only way to get there is through the vents, but there are motion trackers in there. One of us should make our way there but we will set the sensors off once we enter the room alerting here to what's going on"

"Okay, I will take care of the sniper. Barton, make sure we have a clear exit, we don't want to be here when security shows up. Romanoff, there is a computer room behind her I want you to head in there and download all the evidence you can get onto a drive"

"On it Commander"

"I'll be done in no time"

Shepard entered the room with his staff equipped opening up a shield as the man turned pointing his rifle at him he fired several bullets. Shepard deflected them all, he charged him smashing them both through the glass, landing in front of the Shadow.

"Exit's clear" Barton said as Shepard stood up.

"Commander Shepard. I should've known you would find me eventually, you aren't easy to kill you know that?"

"So I have been told"

"Why not join me? We are both relatively hidden from SHIELD and I could make you a very rich man"

"I don't deal with criminals, especially one who participates in human trafficking"

"I've got the data" Natasha informed.

"Meet Barton at the exit" Shepard whispered in response.

"What about you?"

"Too bad, you could've been so useful to me" the Shadow said pointing her pistol at him.

Shepard opened his shield to deflect the bullet, his shield was blown back leaving him revealed. The second round hitting him in the chest and the third in the leg knocking him onto his stomach.

"Shepard!" Natasha yelled worriedly.

"Don't intervene" he whispered back.

Jade Shadow jumped down to where he was as he used his staff supporting himself as he went to his knees.

"You're nothing. You talk a big game but when it comes down to it you're just some punk in a mask" she said touching the gun to his head "But I am not cruel" she said pulling a coin out of her pocket "I offer people a choice. Heads you die quickly, Tails you die slowly" she tossed the coin into the air looking away to watch the coin.

Shepard used his staff to knock the gun away from his head then swept her legs out from under her with it. Using his staff he slammed her down onto the floor while catching the coin in his free hand. Smacking her with the end of his staff knocking her unconscious.

"Let's get this piece of garbage to SHIELD" he said completely unharmed slinging her over his shoulder.

Reaching Natasha and Clint at a car they entered and quickly drove away.

"What happened back there? I was sure you got shot twice" Natasha asked driving towards a SHIELD safehouse

"I did get hit. My armor is just bulletproof around the chest. That and a weak sidearm like that couldn't ever pierce my armor"

"So you just tricked her?" Barton asked.

"Yes, It works well with the arrogant types like her" he answered taking his helmet off "I'll give Coulson a call and tell him we are on the way"

* * *

"You're telling me that this is the Jade Shadow?" Coulson asked Shepard as he dragged her inside.

"Yes"

"How? We don't even know her identity"

"Actually you do, the information on here was just changed by someone with level 8 clearance and was marked classified to anyone. Even the director couldn't get into that file"

"On who's authority?"

"Director Fury's"

"You aren't seriously suggest-"

"Of course I am not. The name was the one used to seal the file. According to her files she was able to obtain a level 8 clearance code"

"How did you find out her identity?"

"I hacked into it, then I just looked at what information had been changed and what it used to be. Two hours later a group of armed men shot up my apartment trying to kill me"

"I'll have to talk to Fury about this"

"Please do. He needs to figure out if this came from the inside or if she was smart enough to do this alone"

Shepard approached Clint and Natasha as Coulson made a phone call "I am really proud of your work today, Barton. I am glad to have you on the team"

"Thank you Commander"

"Romanoff, you have once again performed flawlessly. I knew putting you on this team was the right choice"

"I am glad you think so"

"You may do as you like now. I will be in contact with you two for our next mission once I find out our next job"

"Thank you Shepard" Natasha said smiling lightly as he walked out.

"You totally have a crush on him"

Natasha hit Barton annoyed "I do not"

* * *

"Stark! What do you have for me?" Shepard asked entering his lab.

"I have taken my fathers original design for your guns and armor and have modified it"

"Show them to me"

"This over here is like your old handguns, except they have this little switch on the side here that will fire a small EMP charge. They each take about an hour so recharge so don't go slap happy with it. I made them in case you ever need to go up against someone in a suit like I wear or some type of robot like Vanko made"

"I like it"

"Next we have your rifle, I placed this little launcher on the side here for electrical doors and such. Just fire it on a door or similar electronic devise and it will bypass all security on it"

"Glad to hear I can hack my way into things without Romanoff or you to help me" he said with a smirk.

"Finally we have this suit of armor for you. I have made it out of the same metal I used for my own suit but I added a little Vibranium reinforcement to it so that it wouldn't break. I also added these thrusters onto your boots like on my suit so you can fly like me. I didn't do the same on your gloves though so you won't be able to stop yourself on a dime like I can. Lastly I put in a similar interface into your helmet so you can scan things or see through walls an such. Only difference is Jarvis isn't connected to yours so it will be you doing the driving"

"I am impressed, Tony. Not that I expected anything less from you but you have done exceedingly well"

"Glad you like it, you will be putting it to good use. Bring it back to me if you need anything to be fixed"

"Thank you, Tony" he said pulling him into a hug.

"Just think of it as a thank you for always being there for me when I needed you"

* * *

 **That's all for this chapter. Shepard's knew armor is the Arkham version of Deathstroke's armor. Next chapter coming soon!**


	7. The Avengers

**This chapter will be going through the course of the first Avengers movie. Thank you guys for all of your support and suggestions. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter seven: The Avengers**

Shepard's phone rang stirring from his sleep, grabbing the phone he raised it to his ear.

"What" he groggily answered the phone reading the clock to say 3:26.

"I need you to go to Russia and get Agent Romanoff"

"Rescue mission?"

"No, extraction. I need you to get Romanoff and then you two need to find Banner and bring him to the carrier"

"Banner? What's going on Fury, I told you not to bother Banner unless we didn't have a choice"

"We have a level seven. As of right now we are at war"

"With who?"

"Loki of Asgard. Thor's brother, he stole the Tesseract and has Agent Barton and Doctor Selvig under some kind of mind control"

"I will meet Natasha at Banner's location. Let me give her a call"

"She's currently on mission trying to get information out of General Luchkov"

Hanging up he dialed a number "Hello?"

"Natasha Romanoff" he answered the unknown voice.

"It's for her" he hears over the phone.

"You Listen here-" Luchkov began.

"We have a missile five miles out. Put the woman on the phone, or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby"

Silence was his answer.

"Who is this?" Natasha asked over the phone.

"I need you"

"Are you kidding? I'm working!"

"This is more important"

"I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything"

"I don't give everything" he heard Luchkov say annoyed.

"Look, you can't pull me off this right now"

"Natasha, we have a level seven. Barton's been compromised"

"Let me put you on hold"

Shepard could here groans and things being broken.

"Where's Barton now?"

"We don't know"

"But he's alive"

"I think so, Fury said he was under some type of mind control. I don't know all the details but you and me are going to talk to the big guy"

"Shepard, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me"

"No, I wasn't talking about Stark. The big guy"

Natasha was silent "Срань господня" (Holy Shit)

* * *

Isolated building in India.

Natasha was hiding her nervousness as she paced slowly around the room. Noticing a gun she hid underneath the table Shepard sighed.

"The gun won't be necessary Natasha. Shooting Banner will just bring out the Hulk"

"You said you've seen him in person before right?"

"Yes. I was tracking an arms dealer who worked with the Ten Rings, this was just after they kidnapped Tony"

"You were searching for where they had Tony"

"Yes, I don't know what happened but the next thing I knew he was smashing though the wall of a bottle factory. I don't think I ever ran so fast in my life"

"Let's hope I don't end up meeting him too"

"Just don't shoot at him or make him angry and everything will be fine" he answered shifting behind a wall "They're coming" he warned as Natasha moved out of sight. A small girl led Bruce into the building before quickly running out of the window.

"Should've got paid up front, Banner" he mused to himself.

Natasha revealed herself from behind the wall "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle"

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret"

"Then what is it? Yoga?" She asked smirking.

"You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh...assume the whole place is surrounded?" Banner asked looking out of the window.

"Just you and me"

"And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young?"

"I did"

"Who are you?"

"Natasha Romanoff"

"Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone"

"No, no, of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD"

"SHIELD. How did they find me?"

"We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent"

"Why?"

"Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in"

"What if I say no?"

"I'll persuade you"

"And what if the...other guy says no?"

"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak"

"I don't get every time what I want"

"Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe" Natasha picked her phone out of her pocket.

"Well, those I actively try to avoid" Bruce said chuckling.

"This is the Tesseract" she places the phone on the table with a picture as she sits down "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet"

"What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"

"Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It omits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be"

"So Fury isn't after the monster?"

"Not that he's told me"

"And he tells you everything?"

Talk to Fury, he needs you on this"

"He needs me in a cage?"

"No one's gonna put you in a-"

Banner slams his hand onto the table "Stop lying to me!"

Natasha grabs her gun out from under the table pointing it in his face. Shepard quickly moved in between the two of them "Don't shoot!"

"I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do"

Natasha still held the gun in Shepard's face shaking slightly with fear.

"Natasha, put the gun down. You don't shoot him and the Hulk doesn't make a huge mess. Okay?" Shepard said trying to calm her down.

Natasha doesn't lower the gun "Natasha"

She lowers her gun taking a deep breath. She moved her hand to her earpiece.

"Stand down. We're good here" she ordered the SHIELD agents surrounding the building.

Banner gives an amused look to Natasha "Just you an me?"

"I advised against them being here, I am only here to make sure the Hulk doesn't come back around to play"

"And you are?"

"Commander Shepard" he extended his hand offering to shake. Banner warily accepted the offer.

"I have seen your work and am quite a fan, I have also met your green friend. I am hoping this goes better"

"I am sorry about that"

"Probably wasn't your fault anyway. I promise we need your help from a lab and not a cage, I don't want to see that thing come around again, and trust me I know it's bulletproof"

Banner gauged Shepard cautiously "You know I made the Hulk trying to replicate the serum Erskine developed to use on you"

"I am aware, unfortunately I wasn't there. I could've told you Gamma radiation wasn't the key to the serum. Although I suppose in some way it wasn't exactly a failure"

"I'll come with you, but if you try anything the other guy is gonna come around and you won't like that"

"I imagine not" Shepard said with a genuine smile "We should go, we may not have a lot of time"

* * *

"I thought Coulson was gonna swoon when he figured out who you are" Natasha said walking alongside Shepard aboard the deck of the carrier.

"You mean because I lead the Howling Commandoes"

"Yup. Did he ask you to sign his training cards yet?"

"Training cards? I didn't know people even cared about those anymore"

"They're vintage, he's very proud" she added with a smirk.

They approached Banner who was standing near the edge looking out along the water.

"We should step inside. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe" Natasha said to Banner.

"Is this a submarine? Really? They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?"

The carrier begins to lift into the air "Oh no. This is much worse"

Shepard smirked as they all turned to walk inside.

"Gentlemen. Doctor, thank you for coming" Fury said as they entered the bridge area.

"Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh...how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind"

"Where are you with that?"

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If its connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us" Coulson explained.

"That's still not going to find them in time" Natasha said hiding her concern for Barton.

"You have to narrow the field. Banner?" Shepard asked looking toward him.

"How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked.

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition" he explained.

"That will at least help us rule out a few places" Shepard said in understanding.

"Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please" Fury instructed.

"You're gonna love it Doc. We got all the toys" she said leading him to another room.

* * *

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble" Coulson said awkwardly.

"No, no. It's fine" Shepard answered watching the screens with interest.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges but-"

"We got a hit. Sixty seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy nine percent" an agent announced.

"Location?" Shepard asked. "Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding" _Then he wants us to find him, the question is why_

* * *

"Look to your elder people. Let him be an example" Loki said pointing his scepter at the defiant old man. Firing a blast from it Shepard barely managed to step in front of him and deflect it with his staff's shield deflecting it back at him knocking him off his feet.

"You know the last time I saw a man standing above everybody else. We ended up disagreeing" Shepard said retracting the shield.

"The soldier" Loki said chuckling as he slowly returned to his feet "The man out of time"

"I'm not the one who's out of time"

Natasha hovered above in a quinjet with its turret drawn "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down" she ordered over the PA. Loki smirked and fired a blast of energy towards her forcing her to avoid it.

Shepard charged him smacking him in the chest with his staff he followed with a punch to his face. Loki countered with his scepter attempting to stab him, he blocked it with his staff before having it sent away with the other end of the scepter. Shepard jumped in the air kicking him with both his legs he pushed off his chest rolling to a defensive stance. Charging Shepard sent punch towards his face as Loki side stepped. Swinging his scepter towards his head, Shepard leaned back under the swing and side stepped away from him slamming the opposite end down where he had been standing. Shepard punched him in the ribs then flipped over him to avoid yet another swing, landing he felt the scepter at his head.

"Kneel" Loki demanded.

"Not to men like you" he answered shoving it away and kicking him in the chest sending him stumbling back.

"He's all over the place I can't get a shot with you in the way" Natasha said over his earpiece. Suddenly rock music began to play over the PA as Shepard rolled away from Loki.

"Miss me?" Shepard heard through his earpiece. Tony landed in his Iron Man suit hitting Loki with his repulsors sending him to the ground.

"Make your move reindeer games" he taunted aiming all of his weapons at him. Loki's armor and scepter vanished as he held his hands up in surrender "Good move"

"Stark" Shepard greeted.

"Commander"

* * *

"Has he said anything?" Fury asked over the radio.

"Not a word" Natasha answered.

"Just get him here, we're low on time"

"I don't like it" Shepard whispered to Tony.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy's a hard hitter"

"Still you did pretty good on your own, until I showed up and saved your ass of course"

"Nice to see you too Tony. Fury didn't tell me you were coming"

"Fury there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you"

"I know. You get used to it"

Suddenly a lightning storm formed around the jet "Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked confused.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Shepard asked noticing Loki's sudden uncomfortable appearance.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows" he answered.

"You mean Thor, your brother?" Shepard asked as the heard a thud on the roof. Tony opened the hatch putting his helmet back on.

"What are you doing?" Shepard asked placing his helmet on.

Thor landed on the back of the hatch entering the jet he used his hammer to send Tony flying back into Shepard knocking him over. Grabbing Loki by the throat, he flew out the back.

"And now there's that guy" Tony sighed standing up.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked looking back at them.

"Yes, he's on our-"

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost" Tony interrupted.

"Stark, you can't go up against this guy without a plan of attack-"

"I have a plan. Attack" Tony interrupted again flying after him.

"I'd sit this one out Commander" Natasha advised.

"I don't see how I can"

"These guys come from legend. They're basically gods"

"If there is a God. God certainly wouldn't dress like that. Besides who else is going to keep those two idiots from killing each other?" Shepard asked jumping out the back using his thrusters on his boots to follow the trail of lighting.

"Hey!" Shepard yelled landing near them "That's enough. I know you are on our side. So...let's just put the hammer down and talk"

"No! Bad call he loves his hammer-!" Tony tried to warn before Thor smacked him away with the hammer "You want me to put the hammer down?!" Thor yelled jumping at Shepard striking down towards him. Shepard casually unsheathed his sword and blocked the hammer sending Thor flying backwards onto his back.

"We done here?" he asked extending his hand to him, Thor accepted standing himself up.

"I'm here to put an end to Loki's schemes, bring him back to Asgard with the Tesseract in hand"

"And we are trying to find the Tesseract before Loki uses it. You help us get the Tesseract back and I will make sure you get Loki and the Tesseract to return to Asgard. Deal?" he asked offering his hand.

"Deal" Thor answered back smiling shaking his hand roughly.

* * *

"In case it's unclear. If you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass-" Fury began opening the floor beneath his cell "-That's 300,000 feet in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant. Boot." he said gesturing between Loki and the switch.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me"

"Built for something a lot stronger than you"

"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man" Loki said turning towards the camera the team is watching from "How desperate are you? That you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a power you cannot hope to control, you talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did"

"It burns you doesn't it? To have come so close, to have power. Unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is" Loki ranted. Fury smirked in response and walked away.

"Well let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something"

"He really grows on you doesn't he?" Banner asked sarcastically after Shepard closed the screen.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract"

"An army? from outer space? So, he means to build another portal" Shepard concluded.

"That's what he needs Eric Selvig for" Banner added.

"Selvig?" Thor asked curiously.

"He's an astrophysicist"

"He's a friend"

"Loki has him under some kind of spell" Natasha informed "Along with one of ours" she added looking away.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here" Shepard observed looking around the room.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That man's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him" Bruce said.

"Have care how you speak" Thor warned "Loki is be beyond reason but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother"

"He killed 80 people in two days" Natasha informed coldly.

"He's adopted" Thor relented.

 _Smooth_ Shepard thought with a smirk.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium... what do they need iridium for?" Banner asked.

"It's a stabilizing agent" Tony said entering the room. Turning to Coulson he whispered "I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive"

"Meaning the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD" Shepard clarified.

"No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing" Tony said patting Thor on the shoulder "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and as long as Loki wants" he explained walking to where Fury's terminals are.

"Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails" he said looking out at the crew who looked back at him confused "That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did" he said pointing to one in particular. Covering his left eye he looked at the terminals "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns" Hill answered stoically.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density" Tony said placing something slyly onto the terminal "Something to kick-start the cube"

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Shepard asked smirking.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Natasha asked.

"He'd have to heat the cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier" Shepard said earning looks from everyone "What? I am old not dead. I read things" he defended.

Impressed Tony went on "Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect"

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet" Banner said in understanding.

"Finally, people who speak English" Tony said walking over to them.

"Is that what just happened?" Thor asked confused.

"I didn't understand a word of it either, don't worry about it" Natasha informed.

"Good to meet you Dr. Banner" Tony said shaking his hand "Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I am a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster"

"Thanks" he said awkwardly.

"I'm not. Don't you dare start messing with him Tony, I'll throw you outside without your suit" Shepard warned.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him" Fury said entering the room.

"I'd start with his scepter. It worked an awful lot like a Hydra weapon" Shepard advised.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys" Fury said.

"Monkeys? I do not understand" Thor said confused.

"Can't be, the scepter has some sort similarities to the Tesseract but the Tesseract isn't able to take control of people" Shepard pointed out "The monkeys thing was just a reference to an old movie" he added in Thor's direction.

"Shall we play doctor?" Tony asked gesturing towards the lab.

* * *

"Stark, Banner. Something's off about all of this" Shepard said entering the lab.

"I agree, that's why I am hacking into SHIELD's secure files"

"Good, update me if you find anything. Banner...I can tell something is bugging you. Mind telling me about it?" Shepard asked.

"Loki's quip 'A warm light for all mankind' I think that was meant for you" he said pointing to Stark.

"You mean because of Stark tower?" Shepard said.

"Yes, why wouldn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project if they were just trying to make an endless supply of energy?"

"I only know that Hydra used that energy to make weapons and vehicles. If SHIELD is doing the same thing, they are meddling with a power they can't control"

Shepard noticed the readings on the scepter looking closer he asked "That thing is emitting gamma radiation?"

"Yes, similar to the Tesseract. Why?" Banner asked.

"I think Loki is playing us, if that thing is emitting the same signal as the Tesseract, then Loki's mind controlled buddies can possibly be tracking us. Keep me posted I am going to inform Fury and see if I can find anything while you search their database" he said leaving the room.

Picking up his phone he called Natasha "Romanoff, I need you to tell Fury to keep an eye out. The scepter is emitting the same signature as the Tesseract. We may have someone tracking us" he ended hanging up the phone heading for secure storage.

Shepard broke open the door to secure storage and entered climbing to a higher level he found old wooden crates among new metal crates. Opening them up he found pieces of Hydra armor and a Hydra weapon.

 _Fury you son of a bitch_

* * *

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" Fury asked walking into the lab.

"Uh...kinda been wondering the same thing about you"

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract"

"We are. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile" Banner said pointing to the computer behind Fury.

"Yeah, then you get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss. What is 'Phase 2'?" Tony asked curiously.

Shepard entered the room loudly clattering the weapon onto the table "Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me" he directed to Tony.

"Shepard, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean we're making-"

"I'm sorry Nick. What were you lying?" Tony said turning the screen to him.

"I know what the Tesseract can do Director, we cannot control that power" Shepard said authoritatively.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked Natasha as she and Thor entered the room.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed"

"Loki's manipulating you"

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you"

"Yes, and I am not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction"

"Because of him" Fury pointed at Thor.

"Me?" he asked confused.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but that we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned" he explained.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet"

"Loki doesn't share that sentiment" Shepard pointed out.

"But you're not the only people out there are you? And your not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled"

"Like you controlled the cube?" Shepard asked accusingly.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war" Thor explained.

"A higher form?" Shepard asked.

"You forced our hand, we had to come up with something-" Fury began.

"A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down" Tony interrupted.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark" Fury taunted.

"Wait, hold on. How is this now about me?"

"I am curious to that as well" Shepard said defending his godson.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this" Thor said insultingly.

"Excuse me? Did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury defended.

"You treat your champions with such mistrust"

"Are you boys really that naïve?" Natasha asked in disbelief "SHIELD monitors potential threats"

"Commander Shepard's on threat watch?" Banner asked sarcastically.

"We all are"

"Wait, you're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?" Tony asked Shepard.

"That's not your concern, Doctor" Fury pointed out.

"Stark, I swear to god if you make one more wisecrack-" Natasha threatened.

"Threat! verbal threat! I feel threatened!"

"Show some respect, Tony" Shepard reprimanded.

"Respect what?"

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos" Thor chastised.

"That's his M.O. isn't it? I mean what are we a team? No, no, no, we are a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We are...a time bomb" Bruce said annoyed.

"You need to step away" Fury ordered.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony said placing his hand on Shepard's shoulder.

"You know damn well why! Back off!" he ordered pushing his hand away.

"I'm starting to want you to make me"

"Excuse me?"

"You people are so petty and tiny" Thor laughed.

"Yeah we are a team" Banner said sarcastically.

"Agent Romanoff, would you please escort Dr. Banner to his-"

"Where? You rented my room"

"The cell was just-"

"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know, I tried" Everyone looked at him oddly "I got low, I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. Focused on helping people, I was good. Until you people dragged me back here and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"

Fury and Natasha's hands moved to their weapons "Dr. Banner" Shepard said grabbing his attention "Put down the scepter" he ordered. Bruce looked at it confused not realizing he had even picked it up. Placing it back on the table the computer began beeping.

"We got it" Tony said.

"Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick today" Bruce said walking past him.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I can get there faster!" Tony yelled walking towards the door.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it"

I agree that's why- You aren't going alone!" Shepard said grabbing Tony by the arm.

Smacking it away "You gonna stop me?"

"Don't act like this right now, Tony"

"I am not afraid to hit an old man"

An explosion tore through the ship knocking everyone down and throwing Banner and Natasha through the glass window onto a lower section.

"Put on the suit!" Shepard ordered.

"Yep!" he called back running out.

Shepard slowly pulled himself up clutching his head in pain. Placing his helmet on he heard the Hulk roar loudly "Romanoff! Where are you?"

"Headed to the hanger!" she yelled back terrified.

"I am on my way!" he yelled running in that direction.

* * *

Natasha was thrown onto her back as she made her way into the hanger by the Hulk. crawling away from him she begged "Please, Bruce. Don't!" She yelled as he raised his fist to her. An explosion hit Hulk in the back.

"What the hell?" she asked aloud turning to see Shepard approaching with a grenade launcher hitting Hulk with another one as Hulk ran to pick up a shred of the wall he just tore through to block the third grenade. Tearing off a second piece for a shield he placed both in front of him blocking a fourth grenade, growling as he did.

"Remember me!?" Shepard yelled as Hulk separated the shields he fired the final grenade into Hulk's left arm sending him stumbling backwards. Shepard climbed his back within seconds and jumped tossing the grenade launcher aside and drawing his pistols he landed on the catwalk, firing four rounds from each at Hulk's face. Hulk roared in anger and swung his left shield at the catwalk shattering it. Shepard flipped over him firing three more rounds from each he landed perfectly and fired five more rounds from each into his back.

Hearing a click from each weapon indicating they were empty he groaned tossing the away as he jumped back to avoid Hulk swinging his left arm towards him as he turned. Shepard spun downwards underneath a swing form Hulk's right shield and flipped sideways over a horizontal slice with his left shield. Jumping onto his back to avoid Hulk using the left shield to scrape the ground upwards at Shepard. Shepard pushed himself backwards quickly to avoid a vertical stab made with the sharp end of the right shield with a roar barely avoiding losing his foot as he separated his legs.

 _Oh my god. He's keeping up with him_

Shepard tucked his legs together pushing off of the weapon Hulk embedded into the floor he slid away from Hulk as he slammed the shields into the ground trying to keep up with him. Using his hands he flipped himself backwards up on his feet and prepared for Hulk's next attack. Hulk roared and charged before being tackled by Thor knocking the weapons from his hands.

Shepard ran over to Natasha and picked her up bridal style running to the exit of the hanger. Natasha looked up at him in awe as he made his way back to the upper levels.

 _How did he do that without getting a scratch on him?_

"This is Fury, Barton is heading to the detention level! Does anyone copy?"

"This is Shepard. I copy" he said placing Natasha down "I'll be right back, head to the bridge" he ordered receiving a crisp nod in response. Shepard headed to the detention block. Sneaking up behind Barton, he turned around aiming his bow at Shepard. He moved the bow away at the last second with his hand, Barton kicked him in the abdomen causing him to stumble back and swung at him with his bow. Shepard spun around the attack and kicked him backwards before slipping underneath the walkway and coming back around the opposite side kicking him in the chest with both legs sending him on his back.

Barton fired an arrow at him which he dodged by swinging over to the second walkway by the supports. Barton followed after him and swung his bow in a fury of attacks. Shepard ducked under the first and side stepped the second before grabbing the bow string and pulling Clint towards him. Barton hit him in the head with the other end of the bow and pinned him against the railing. Shepard kicked his leg making him fall lose his footing and back handed him while clutching the bow getting it away from Clint.

Barton unsheathed a combat knife, he struck at him being blocked by his left arm he hit him with an open palm to his chest then hit the underside of his elbow with the top of his fist as Barton groaned in pain. Tossing the knife up he caught it in his opposite hand and swung for his throat. Shepard ducked under it and caught his next strike, Barton rammed him against one of the supports forcing the knife towards his eye. Shepard resisted, he grabbed Shepard by the strings coming out of the back of his helmet. Shepard used his own weight to twist around his arm in a flipping motion and slam his head into the railing.

Groaning in pain Barton pushed himself up on his knees and looked at him "Commander?" he asked before getting knocked out. Shepard tied his hands together with a rope from his grappling gun.

"This is Stark, I need someone at turbine three right now!" he yelled.

"Just stay put! I am on my way!" Shepard yelled running towards that location "Romanoff, Barton is unconscious and tied up in the detention block" he reported running faster as he did so. Arriving at the turbine he found a completely obliterated room "Stark, I am here!"

"You see that red lever? I need you to turn it when I tell you"

"Got it" Shepard yelled jumping and climbing his way over there. Three SHIELD agents came into the room and threw a grenade at the turbine, Shepard jumped and hit it away from the carrier and engaged them. Shepard grabbed the first one by the throat and kicked the second's rifle out of his hands and out of the carrier. He tossed him backwards out the carrier attaching one end of a grappling hook to his belt and the other end to the door frame before kicking the second's leg out from under him and using his other leg to kick him in the face. Grabbing the last agent's rifle he pushed it into his face and pulled his legs out from under him with the other hand, he snapped the mans arm and punched him in the throat knocking him out.

The first agent stopped screaming having past out from shock. Shepard jumped back up to the lever as the floor fell out from under him. He barely managed to grab onto a wire hanging from the wall stopping himself.

"Pull the level" Tony said over his earpiece.

"I need a minute here!"

"Lever. Now!" he said nervously as he pushed the turbine by hand.

Using his thrusters he propelled himself into the lever.

"Help!" Tony yelled as he bounced around the turbine.

Shepard pulled the lever as a fourth agent came in and started shooting at him.

Stark flew right into him knocking him out on impact.

"Agent Coulson's down" Fury reported over the earpiece

"A medical team is on it's way to your location" came through from another agent.

"They're here...they called it" Fury responded back solemnly.

* * *

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them" Fury said tossing the cards covered in blood onto the table "We are dead in the air up here, our communications the location of the Cube. Banner, Thor...I have nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming"

Shepard picked up the cards and looked at them sadly shaking his head "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea that you know about, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together remarkable people and see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes"

Tony got up and stormed out of the room "Well, it's an old fashioned idea"

Shepard followed after Tony.

* * *

"Why am I back? How did you get him out?" Barton asked curiously.

"Cognitive recalibration" Natasha answered sitting down next to him "Hit you really hard in the head"

"Thanks"

"It wasn't me...Shepard was the one who saved you"

"He's a good guy"

"Yeah he is" Natasha agreed with a small smile.

"Whatever Loki is planning, he is doing it soon. Today"

"We have to stop him"

"Who's 'we'?"

"I don't know, whoever is left"

"Putting an arrow through Loki's eye socket might help me sleep better"

"Now your sounding like you"

"But you're not. You're a spy not a soldier, and now you just want to wade into a war?"

"I have been compromised. I have red in my ledger. I would like to wipe it out"

They were silent for a short while "Ever since I met Shepard I can't stop wanting to make myself better than I was...than I am. I just...he's always so genuine and pure, never lying to get what he wants and always doing the right thing. I just want to be a little like that you know? Someone people can look up to, someone I can be proud of being"

"You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for...I know what you mean about Shepard though. I have only known him for a short time. There's just something about him that makes you want to help him to follow him into the depths of hell without fear of not coming back because you know he'll be there when you need him and you'll be then when he needs you"

"That sounds about right" she said smiling a real smile for once.

* * *

Tony looked over the spot where the cell used to be silently. Shepard stood at the opposite end and leaned against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Was he married?"

"No. The was a cellist, I think"

"I am sorry. He was a good man"

"He was an idiot"

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone"

"He was doing his job"

Tony scoffed "He was out of his league he should've waited...he should've..."

"Sometimes, there isn't a way out, Tony"

"Right, I've heard that before"

"This is the first time you've lost a soldier"

"We are not soldiers"

"He was"

" I am not marching to Fury's fife"

"Neither am I. He has got the same blood on his hands that Loki. But right now we need to put that behind us and get this done"

"It's personal"

"That's not the point"

"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart"

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great. He knows he has to beat us to win, right? He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience"

"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart"

"That was just the previews this is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers he wants parades. He wants monuments built to the skies with his name plastered-" Tony paused in realization "Son of a bitch"

"Stark Tower" Shepard said in realization.

* * *

"Time to go" Shepard said entering the room.

"Where?" Natasha asked surprised.

"Stark Tower, that's where Loki's making his play. Can you fly one of those jets?"

"I can" Barton said coming forward.

"Suit up" he ordered placing his helmet on.

Walking aboard the jet an agent stopped them "Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here"

"Son, just don't" Shepard said icily.

* * *

"Stark we are at your three, headed northeast" Natasha reported as the jet approached the city.

"What did you stop for drive thru!? Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you"

Barton and Natasha fired upon the aliens killing a few before hovering above where Thor and Loki were fighting, Thor was thrown aside as they opened fire on Loki. Loki fired an energy blast into their rotor causing Barton to direct the landing as best he could as they crashed into the street. Shepard pulled his rifle off his back leading them out of the jet and onto the chaos of the streets.

"We've got to get up there!" he yelled as a flying Chitauri beast came through the portal "Stark, you seeing this?"

"Seeing. Still working on believing. Where's Banner has he shown up yet?"

"No sign of him so far"

"Keep me posted"

"We have civilians trapped down there" Natasha informed as they took cover behind a taxi.

"They're fish in a barrel down there"

"We got this, go" Natasha assured as the Chitauri moved.

"You sure you got this?"

"Commander, It would be my genuine pleasure" Barton said with a smile as he stood up firing arrows at them with Natasha doing the same with her pistols.

Shepard leapt down off the bridge onto a bus as the bus exploded he jumped to a car which flew due to an explosion pushing off with his feet he flipped away from the explosions landing safely.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha yelled to Barton.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently"

"It's gonna be at least an hour before they can scramble the national guard" an officer told his partner.

"National guard! Does the army know what's happening here?"

"Do we?"

Shepard landed on the car in front of them "You need men in these buildings. There are civilians inside who are going to be running straight into the line of fire. Get them to the basements or through the subways, keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th" he ordered the officers.

"Why the hell should I take orders from you?"

An explosion sounded behind them, as Chitauri landed around them. Shepard punched one hard in the face then use his rifle to hit the one behind him in the face before kicking him away, turning around he shot down six of them then unsheathed his sword he cut the arm off of another head-butting it away from him.

"I need men in those buildings, take the civilians down and off the streets. I need a perimeter back behind 39th" he instantly ordered into his radio.

Shepard quickly rejoined Natasha and Barton as Thor landed near them both taking down several Chitauri as they arrived.

"What's the story upstairs?" Shepard asked approaching Thor.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable"

"Thor's right we have to deal with these guys" Stark said in agreement.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked concerned.

"As a team" Shepard answered.

"I have unfinished business with Loki" Thor pointed out.

"Ya? Get in line" Barton answered annoyed.

"Enough! Loki is goin to keep the fight focused on us. That's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He's going to need us to-" Shepard stopped seeing Banner ride up on a motorcycle.

"So, this all seems horrible" Bruce said stepping off the bike.

"I've seen worse" Natasha pointed out.

"Sorry"

"No, we could actually use a little worse"

"Stark, Banner is here"

"Tell him to suit up, I'm brining the party to you"

Tony came from around the corner with the Chitauri beast behind him.

"I don't see how that's a party" Natasha joked.

"Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry"

"That's my secret, Commander. I'm always angry" Banner transformed into the Hulk and punched the beast in the snout stopping it in its tracks.

"Hang on!" Tony yelled firing a missile at it blowing it apart.

Shepard opened his staffs shield and covered Natasha from the debris.

"Guys" Natasha nervously took notice of more beasts coming though the portal.

"Call it, Commander" Stark said.

"All right, listen up. Until we can close the portal our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof eyes on everything calling out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter, anything gets more than three blocks out you turn it back or turn it to ash"

"Can you give me a lift?" Barton asked.

"Right, better clench up, Legolas" he answered flying him to the roof.

"Thor, you gotta try to bottleneck that portal, you've got the lightning, light em up. Romanoff, you and me hunker down and keep the fighting here. Hulk"

Hulk turned back expectantly "Smash" Hulk grinned then jumped off fighting Chitauri as he went.

"Stark, you've got a lot of strays on your tail" Barton pointed out.

"I'm just trying to keep them off the streets"

"Well they can't bank worth a damn, find a tight corner"

"I will roger that"

Natasha is taken off her feet by a Chitauri soldier and slams her onto a car hood. She tiresomely takes him down by cutting his throat with his energy rifle's blade. Standing up she slumps back tiredly as several more charge her. Shepard lands in front of her and takes them down with his staff quickly.

"What happened to your guns?"

"Same as yours. Out of ammo"

"Commander, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it"

"Well, maybe it's not about guns"

"You wanna get up there your gonna need a ride" he said gesturing to the flying chariots.

"I could use a lift" she said with a smirk backing up for a running start.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks tossing her his grapple gun.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun" she ran at him using his shield as a boost as he sent her soaring into the air as she latched onto a chariot with the hook and accelerated towards it.

 _She's as crazy as I am_ he thought to himself with a smirk.

* * *

"Shepard! You hearing me? We have got a missile headed straight for the city" Fury yelled over the earpiece.

"How long?"

"Three minutes at best"

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha announced.

"Do it!" Stark yelled.

"No!"

"Shepard? These things are still coming!"

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it" he says catching up to the nuke. Shepard accelerates the missile with his thrusters using his staff as a handle to pull it up into the portal.

"Shepard, you there?" Fury asked over the earpiece.

He got nothing in response.

"Come on, Shepard..." she said shifting in place with the scepter in the energy field.

"Close it" Shepard came through with static.

"But you'll die"

"Do it!" came the less clear reply. She closed the portal. Shepard passed out as he fell though just in time plummeting towards the earth.

"Son of a bitch" Barton says smiling.

"Guy's he isn't slowing down" Natasha said nervously.

Thor and Stark quickly fly towards him, Hulk grabs him out of the air crashing and sliding down a building then smashing into a car.

Thor grabbed Barton and Stark grabbed Natasha brining them down to him as Hulk tossed him off his chest. Natasha ran over to him taking his head in her lap she pulls his helmet off.

They all stare in shock, Tony looks on the verge of tears "He...he can't be dead. He can't be" he said dropping to his knees with Thor's hand on his stopped herself from crying even though it was extremely tough. Hulk roared in anger startling Shepard awake.

"What the hell! What happened?" he asked sitting up slightly before falling back in pain. "Please tell me nobody kissed me?"

They all laughed happy that he was alive Hulk grinned. Tony grabbed him into a bone crushing hug.

"Ow...that hurts Stark"

"Shut up you old bastard" he said through sobs. "Alright. Hey, good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it" Tony ranted righting himself.

"We're not finished yet" Shepard said looking up at Stark Tower as he was helped to his feet.

"And then shawarma after" Tony said breaking the tension.

Loki crawls onto the stairs, looking like a beat to shit ragdoll. He takes a breathe turning to see the Avengers staring back at him with pissed looks on their faces.

"If it's all the same to you...I'll have that drink"

The Hulk snorts at him.

* * *

"Superhero's? In New York? Give me a break!" an old man said interviewed by a news team.

Switching to senator Boynton "These so called heroes have to be held responsible for the destruction done to the city. This was their fight. Where are they now?"

Switching to a waitress "What? That this was somehow their fault? Commander Shepard saved my life. Wherever he is, wherever any of them are, I just wanna say thank you"

"Thor has taken Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard" Fury informed Shepard entering the room with Natasha and Barton in tow.

"I am aware. Thank you for letting Thor take it back where it belongs"

"Out of our reach" Fury replied with a smirk "You did good, Commander. You kept this whole thing from going to shit, and not just in New York but here on the carrier as well"

"It wasn't just me, Fury. That's why I was able to do all this today, because I wasn't fighting alone" he said with a smile on his face.

"Indeed, so what do you plan to do now?"

"Take some time off, I plan on settling down someday you know. Just call me if you need me" he said walking towards the exit "Natasha can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Shepard" she said leading him out of the room.

Barton smirked as they walked out of the room "They totally like each other"

"Really?" Fury asked surprised.

"Oh ya" he said grinning.

"What'd' you want to talk about"

"I saw your interrogation of Loki. I know not all of that was fake, which was why it worked. I don't know what you did in the past but I know that whatever it is, you're a better person today. All the red you say you have in your ledger. It's only there so long as you hold onto it"

"You really think I can wipe out all that read?"

"I don't think, I KNOW. You did good out there today Natasha" he said walking out of the room.

Natasha's heart fluttered at the compliment and the use of her first name, for some reason when he called her that, it made her feel happy. She shook the feeling away walking back onto the bridge.

 _Love is for children, don't fall for him_

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter. Longest chapter yet! Sorry this took me so long to finish, my computer was giving me problems. Hope you liked it!**


	8. Matters of the heart

**This chapter will be focusing more on Natasha and Shepard's relationship. Hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter eight: Matters of the heart**

"Agent Romanoff has been captured" Fury informed reading over a file in his hand.

"Isn't that her M.O.? She uses that as an interrogation method" Shepard asked confused.

"Normally yes. This time however there are hostages involved if she makes a move the hostages get killed and we can't send a team after the hostages or they'll kill her"

"So you want me to rescue one of them while you send a team after the other"

"No, I am sending you to get Romanoff, Barton will handle the hostages"

"Fine with me"

"Agent Barton is waiting for you in the hanger"

With a nod Shepard walked down to the hanger to meet Barton.

"What took you so long?"

"Let's just get this over with" he answered annoyed.

Barton stepped into the pilot seat beginning to take off while Shepard put on his armor in the back.

"So...what do you think of Nat?"

"She's a good agent and a good person"

"What else do you think about her?" he asked with a knowing look.

"If there is something you mean to say, Barton then say it"

"You and her seemed close before New York, you two haven't really spent any time together since then"

"I'm retired, Clint. As in I don't do field work anymore"

"What do you call this?"

"Helping a friend"

"Riiiiight, friend" he said making air quotes with his hands.

 _I am not dignifying you with a response to that_

Shepard remained silent taking the seat next to him.

"Let's go over the plan"

* * *

Shepard knocked out the guard watching the upper catwalk, hiding where he had a perfect view of Natasha strapped to a chair hanging by a hook attached to the roof over a vat of superheated metal.

"Barton, I am in position"

"Me too, there is only one guard at the hostage kill switch"

"Take him down and get the hostages out, I will grab Natasha once your clear"

"Roger that"

The man who looked to be in charge walked into the room looking up at Natasha" So the infamous Black Widow has finally been beaten. Who'd have thought it'd be so easy?" he taunted pacing back and forth.

"Hiding behind innocents and using them as a shield is a cowards tactic" She said scowling back at him.

"Maybe...but I can just leave that part out when I present your corpse to your president"

 _Not on my watch asshole_

"I'd like to see you try, let me down and fight me like a man svoloch" she taunted.

"What makes you think I want to fight you?"

"Shepard, I am at the doors about to release the hostages"

"Do it, contact me once your clear-" Natasha's chair detached from the roof "-Shit!"

Shepard jumped off the catwalk firing his grappling hook he swung down over the vat catching her at the last minute and crashing through a window onto a truck hood "Ow" he groaned rolling over to check on her.

"Commander! What happened? Is Nat alright?" Clint's worried voice came from his earpiece.

"She's fine, she passed out. The doors to the hostages must've been rigged to spring her trap if they were opened.

"I am taking the hostages to the jet, do you have a vehicle?"

Shepard closed the door after placing Natasha in the back limping towards the other side "Yes, I will meet you back-" Shepard was hit with the butt of a rifle knocking him to the floor as the man kicked him in the face knocking him unconscious.

"Shepard? Shepard! Do you copy?"

* * *

Shepard awoke in a dark room strapped to a chair with all his armor and weapons gone with a pounding headache and some type of machine stuck around his head.

"Commander Shepard! Awake at last, I was expecting them to send someone to the rescue of the Widow. But I have to say I wasn't expecting you" spoke the man from before over the PA system. Shepard groaned in annoyance, he used his teeth to pull the strap off one of his hands and then removed the others once it was free.

"That machine around your head is something I developed myself just for this occasion, you see there is a key located somewhere in this building along with all of your equipment. The catch is that your friend has one as well but there is only one key and whoever unlocks theirs will cause the other ones head to be crushed. And don't even think about trying to leave, I have camera's all over this facility and if you take one step outside with it still on you will die. Have fun!" he explained enthusiastically.

 _Sick bastard_

Shepard left the room finding several men with weapons waiting outside "Hello, gentlemen. I hope you don't plan to do what I think you are going to do"

Smiling they charged him, he sidestepped the first kicking the back of his knee and head-butting the second. Turning he sent a kick to the abdomen of the third catching the wrench in his hand he hit the final assailant in the knee with it sending him screaming to the ground. Smashing the first's head into the wall he kicked the third one in the face knocking them both out. The second man grabbed him from behind around the neck, elbowing him in the chest he grabbed his arm and slammed him onto his back over his shoulder. Shepard approached the last one as he begged him not to hurt him he placed his foot on his chest before bending his knee to his throat in one quick movement choking him of air until he passed out.

"Think I'll hang on to this" he said to himself looking at the wrench in his hand.

"Shepard? Is that you?" Natasha asked limping around the corner.

"Jesus what happened to you?"

"I don't know, I woke up in a dark room and my leg wouldn't cooperate" she said with a smirk "Do you know how to get these things off our heads?"

"You mean he didn't tell you?"

"Who didn't tell me?"

"When I woke up he explained to me over the PA that there was a key that will unlock them. All we have to do is find it before we try to leave or our heads get smashed"

"Sounds easy enough"

They entered a room with a light illuminating a locker with their equipment inside and a large window above that lighting the room slightly with a key hanging down from the ceiling by a string.

"That was way easier than it should've been" Natasha said suspiciously taking a step forward.

"Wait!" Shepard yelled grabbing her shoulder and pointing to the floor alerting her to the glass shards covering the floor.

"Wow, thanks. That would've really sucked with being barefoot and all"

Shepard nodded and used the wrench in his hand to scrape the glass out of their way as they slowly walked though the room. Reaching the key Natasha climbed onto his shoulder's and grabbed they key stepping off she held it in front of him.

"Who wants to go first?" she asked.

"You go ahead" he answered not looking at her.

Natasha shrugged and put the key into the hole turning it the device came off...of Shepard's head.

Shepard stared at her in disbelief and then anger as he quickly placed his hands on each end of the machine as Natasha started screaming in pain and pulled with all his strength.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I give the directions wrong again? Oh well" the PA blared with his laughter.

"I'll kill you! You better hope I die before I find you!" Shepard yelled angrily.

An arrow came though the window embedding itself in between the gears of the machine followed by another into the key hole. The machine fell off of her head.

"You two alright in there?" Barton called through the window.

"We are good!" Natasha answered back through breaths.

"I'm coming down!" he said attaching an arrow with a rope at the end into the wall and sliding his way down.

* * *

Smashing open the door to the PA system they found a single guard with a radio sitting in front of the PA.

"Expecting me Commander?" he laughed over the radio.

"Better run and hope I don't find you, because if and when I do you will wish you never crawled out from the abyss you belong in"

"Ooooo, I am so scared. Good day, Commander"

"Where is he?" Natasha asked the guard threateningly.

"I ain't telling you shit lady" he spat in her face.

Shepard pulled her gun from its holster and shot him in the knee causing him to scream in agony.

"Where is he!?" he yelled into his face twisting his wrist painfully.

"He's leaving the country! Aboard his private jet! He's leaving the airport nearby in twenty minutes!" he answered quickly with fear in his eyes.

"If you're lying I'll break the other one"

"They other what-AUGH!" he yelled as his arm was snapped. Shepard walked out of the room without a room.

Natasha followed stopping in front of him "What the hell was that?" she asked.

"You don't approve of my method?" he asked stone faced handing her back the gun.

Accepting it and holstering it she answered "No, it's just of all the interrogations we have ever done you have been the good cop. I have never seen you act like that"

"You have never seen me pissed off before" he answered stepping around her.

* * *

Aboard the quinjet they were tracking the signal of the plane that left from the nearby airport.

"Shepard?" Natasha asked grabbing his attention "Yes?" he asked not looking up from cleaning his weapon.

"What did he mean when he said he gave the wrong instructions?"

"He meant he is a lying piece of filth"

"But why?"

"He said the one who used the key would go free and the other would get their head smashed"

Natasha and Clint looked to each other in surprise "You mean you gave me the key knowing it would kill you?"

"Apparently not, if it wasn't for Barton you would be dead right now"

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"For everything, tying to sacrifice yourself for me, saving me from falling into molten metal, for saving Clint when he was controlled by Loki, and for saving me from the Hulk when he was going crazy aboard the carrier"

"Let's not forget how he dragged a nuke into the Chitauri mothership though a wormhole" Clint spoke up.

"Of course not, I have to ask. Why did you save me from the Hulk?"

"Excuse me?"

"You told me you had seen the Hulk before and you ran for your life and yet you didn't hesitate to go head to head with him aboard the carrier. Why?"

"You were in danger and needed my help. I wasn't thinking about anything else"

"Weren't you scared?"

"Of course I was"

"Then why did you do it? When I am scared I either freeze up or run"

"I have never gone into battle without fearing not coming back from it. The thing that makes someone strong is when they fight even though they are afraid"

"I guess I am not a strong person"

"Yes you are. You fought against the Chitauri in New York even though you were terrified"

"How did you know I was terrified?"

"Because I was"

"You were? But you seemed so calm like it was just another annoyance to be taken care of"

"I can guarantee you I wanted to run the instant I saw the army coming through the portal"

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because you were all counting on me to be there for you, and because the people of New York needed heroes to save them"

Natasha was quite for a moment with a smile on her face as he looked at Shepard smiling back at her.

"There he is" Clint called seeing the plane in front of them.

"What's the play?"

Shepard opened the hatch "I'll be right back" he answered jumping out the back and flying to the plane hatch and smashing it open. Five guards turned to look at him standing up and drawing their weapons they fired as Shepard casually drew his pistols and shot them all knocking them unconscious.

"I have grenade!" The man he was looking for said exiting the cockpit "You kill me we all die!"

"What's your name?" he yelled over the wind coming from the open hatch.

"All of this and you don't even know who I am? I am General Viktor Dragovich, leader of the ultranationalist" he said proudly.

Shepard took a step towards him. He pulled the pins on the grenades put held the handles closed "You can't kill me! You'll blow whole plane up!"

Grabbing him by the collar he held him outside the plane "Drop them or I drop you!"

"You won't drop me you need-" Shepard dropped him out of the plane as he screamed in terror dropping the grenades as he fell. After the exploded he jumped out of the plane and used his thrusters to catch up to him grabbing him out of the air and flying back into the quinjet he tossed him in front of Natasha as he closed the hatch.

"Look who we have here" she said from her seat with a smug look on her face.

"You! Your supposed to be dead!" he yelled angrily.

"So sorry, your little trick didn't work maybe next time-"

Shepard began brutally beating him yelling insults in many different languages.

"Stop it! We need him alive!" Natasha yelled struggling to stand with her injured leg "This isn't you anymore, Shepard! You don't kill people anymore, remember?" Shepard paused momentarily before punching him again knocking him out and walking to the copilot seat. Clint looked at him with a concerned look on his face.

"Clint, if you have something to say now would be a good time to keep your mouth shut" Natasha warned.

* * *

"What the hell did you do to him?" Fury yelled slamming his hands down on the table "You beat him half to death!"

"I am aware of his condition"

"This isn't like you, Shepard. What happened?"

"I don't work for you, Fury. Ask Romanoff or Barton if you want a briefing" he said turning to walk out.

"Shepard, I know you aren't with SHIELD anymore. But could you at least answer my question"

he paused at the door momentarily as he shook his head and walked out.

"Barton, you will be briefed by Agent Hill, Romanoff, I want you to tell me what happened"

"Shepard saved me from being killed in a trap while Agent Barton saved the hostages. I passed out and woke up tied to a chair with a trap over my face. According to Shepard General Dragovich told him whoever unlocks the trap on their head goes free and the other gets their head smashed, he gave me the key without telling me this and I unlocked mine. Instead his trap came off and mine started to close. Barton saved me from the trap"

"What happened next?"

"Shepard just snapped, he shot a man in the leg and broke his arm interrogating him for the General's location. Once we found his private jet trying to escape the country he broke into it while it was in the air and dropped him out of the plane since he was using grenades as a shield to not be killed. When Shepard brought him back into the jet he began beating him brutally, I was able to convince him to stop"

"So that's why he looks like roadkill and is promising to help us out as long as we keep Shepard away from him" Fury said with a smirk.

"Yes, sir"

"Agent Romanoff, what do you think of Commander Shepard?"

"He is an excellent fighter and an even better man, sir"

"Do you have any intimate feelings for him, Agent Romanoff?"

"Love is for children sir"

"That didn't answer my question"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Romanoff"

"..."

"Natasha, answer me"

"Yes, sir"

"Do you believe he reciprocates these feelings?"

"He can't, sir. No one could. Not for me"

"You're selling yourself short"

"I am being realistic"

"That is all Agent Romanoff"

Natasha nodded then left the room walking towards the elevator. Fury picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Agent Coulson, I believe I owe you fifty dollars"

* * *

Natasha caught up to Shepard as he walked to his car "Shepard!"

"Natasha? I thought you'd be briefing Fury"

"I finished already"

Shepard nodded in understanding "I want to thank you for stopping me today"

"It's nothing, I know that's not the kind of person you are"

"Sometimes I find that hard to believe myself"

"You better believe it! Everyone here at SHIELD does myself included and the rest of the Avengers do as well"

"Thank you, I can always count on you to have my back"

"We are partners after all we have been through lately with the Avengers and SHIELD"

"I suppose we are. I'll see you later" he said turning to get into his car.

"Drive safe old timer"

Shepard looked at her with a smirk "What? I forgot my hearing aid at home" he pulled out of the parking lot.

Natasha shook her head in amusement as she walked back into the building.

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter! Hope you all liked it!**


	9. Moving Foward

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter nine: Moving forward**

Shepard sat in his living room eating when his phone rang reading 'Natasha'. Sighing deeply he answered "Natasha, what's the problem of the day?" he asked jokingly.

"Shut up and turn on your TV"

Shepard looked slightly offended but did as he was told "Some people call me a terrorist, I consider myself a teacher. America, ready for another lesson. In 1864 in Sand Creek Colorado the U.S. military waited till the friendly Cheyenne braves all gone hunting, waited to attack and slaughter their families left behind, and claim their land. Thirty-nine hours ago the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was attacked. I...I...I did that. A quaint military church filled with wives and children, of course. The soldiers were out on maneuver, the braves were away. President Ellis you continue to resist my attempts to educate you, sir. And now, you've missed me again. You know who I am, you don't know where I am, and you'll never see me coming" the TV returned to its regular program.

"Tell me you know where this guy is and want me to help?"

"No sadly we don't know where this guy is, we didn't even know he existed until just now, he has been taking credit for some other bombings that have gone on recently"

"You're telling me this guy just showed up out of nowhere? People don't just come out of thin air"

"I know, SHIELD doesn't know what to do. We don't have any leads and we don't even know where he operates out of"

"Well, I suppose that just leaves me then"

"That's why I was calling. You have a record according to Fury for finding people who can't be found"

"I'll do what I can, those families deserve some closure"

"Thank you, Shepard. I didn't know what else to do but ask you for help"

"Normally I'd be mad you called me out of retirement. But this is the kind of thing I do when I am retired" he said with a smirk.

"Then maybe I shouldn't have called you at all" she joked.

"I'll update you with anything I find"

* * *

Shepard was currently investigating the bombing in Kuwait. Using the interface Tony made for him he scanned the room and combined his scan with evidence from SHIELD, CIA, and FBI databases. He approached a small crater in the center of the room and scanned it.

 _The explosion started here, the shadows burned into the wall tells me it was at least three thousand degrees. Casualty listings say there were twenty people killed, but there is only twelve shadows on the wall and seven people died in the hospital so there is one person missing. Possibly the bomber, but it's impossible to tell without knowing exactly who's shadows are on the wall making that a dead end._

Shepard started scanning the point of explosion again processing all the possible bombs that could create these effects. All the possibilities showed up with nothing as there was no shrapnel or bomb casing in evidence to show what was used.

 _There isn't any evidence that a bombing even happened here if it wasn't for the dead people and scorch marks everywhere. That's simply impossible, how does someone bomb a building with no bomb? Nothing that's ever been created in these databases could've done this without having some type of container for it._

Shepard used his interface to call Natasha.

"Hello?"

"We have a problem"

"What is it?"

"I cross referenced all the evidence gathered by SHIELD, the CIA and the FBI. There isn't any bomb that we know of that could create this result without leaving shrapnel or a case behind. Aside from the fact that twenty people are dead or unaccounted for and the obvious environment damage there isn't any evidence of a bomb being here at all. No chemical residue and no shrapnel"

"That cannot be correct, explosions don't just happen"

"There is something else going on here. There are twenty people on the casualty listing, seven of them died in the hospital and another twelve have their shadows burned into the walls and floors. There is someone missing who could be the bomber or at the very least seen something"

"Then figure out who it is and let's get after him"

"It's not that simple, I can't figure out who it is without knowing who the shadows are on the wall"

"Dammit"

Shepard's interface showed he was receiving a call from Colonel James Rhodes "I have to go, Natasha. Get SHIELD to keep an eye out for all the victims who can't be accounted for at each bombing and let me know if you get something back" hanging up he answered the next call "Rhodey! How have you been?"

"I'll be better once The Mandarin is behind bars. We need to talk about Tony"

"Tony? What about him?"

"He looked like he was having a heart attack today while we were out, then he just took off in his suit"

"A heart attack? What the hell happened?"

"We were out eating and discussing The Mandarin, these kids asked him to sign their drawings so he did. When he broke the crayon he was signing with he started freaking out. Then he ran outside went into his suit and just sat there for a minute before taking off"

"What was the kid's drawing off?"

"Iron Man fighting the aliens above New York, why?"

"I think Tony is having a hard time adjusting to normalcy after New York"

"What? Like PTSD?"

"Something like that, I still suffer from nightmares from New York. Maybe I can talk to him and help him out, he sure as hell won't go to a psychiatrist for help"

"Thank you, I was getting worried"

"Thank you for calling me, I will stop by while I figure out where to go next in my hunt"

"You're hunting The Mandarin too?"

"Someone has to do it. SHIELD doesn't have any leads on the guy and the bombings are all dead ends, there isn't a possibility that it's any type of bomb we've seen before. It's possible The Mandarin got his hands on some equipment from New York and used it to create a totally new type of explosive"

"Well you certainly seem to know more than the pentagon does"

"I'll talk to you later Rhodes"

* * *

Driving away from the airport he was headed towards Tony's house as turned a corner he found a building burning. Stopping his car out front using the sidewalk as a shortcut he got out and ran inside.

"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?" he called out looking around he noticed shadows on the wall "Don't tell me its him again" coughing to his left caught his attention. Running over to the man he recognized him as Happy, Tony's bodyguard.

"Happy? Look at me, stay awake. What happened here? Did you see who planted the bomb?"

"No bomb" he choked out "Guy took some drug" he said as he passed out.

"Hold on, I am getting you to a hospital" Shepard picked him up and ran towards his car placing him in the back he sped away towards the hospital. Pulling out his phone he dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Tony, Happy's hurt. I am taking him to the hospital just up the road from the Chinese Theatre. Meet me there"

"What? Happy's hurt!? What the hell are you doing in town?"

"Later! Get to the hospital, I don't know if he's gonna make it"

* * *

"True story about fortune cookies. They look Chinese, they sound Chinese, but they're actually an American invention. Which is why they're hollow, full of lies, and leave a bad taste in the mouth. My disciples just destroyed another cheap American knock-off, The Chinese Theater. Mr. President, I know this must be getting frustrating, but this season of terror is drawing to a close. And don't worry, the big one is coming; your graduation" played over the TV before returning to its regular program.

Shepard stood outside Happy's room watching the nurse check on him as Tony sat next to the hospital bed. Tony walked out of the room passing by Shepard without a word.

"Tony, wait. Tony" he called following after him "Stop" he grabbed his shoulder Tony threw it off him turning around "What the hell are you doing in town?! You show up and Happy gets hurt. What the hell happened"

Shepard sighed keeping his anger in control "Rhodey called me, told me you looked like you had a heart attack yesterday. I decided to pay you a visit and see how you are doing. I found the building on fire when I was passing by it and ran inside to see if anyone needed help. Happy was the only one who wasn't completely vaporized by the explosion. Same M.O. as the other Mandarin attacks"

"So you had nothing to do with this?"

"I didn't know there was going to be an attack, I just came here to see if you were okay before I continued my manhunt for The Mandarin"

Tony stared at him silently for a moment before sighing "I'm sorry I jumped the gun. I have been a bit on edge lately"

"I know, that's why I am here"

Tony turned walking out of the hospital being barraged by reporters trying to get answers from him.

"Mr. Stark! When is somebody gonna kill this guy?" one reporter said as he tried to step into his car. Tony stopped and slowly turned to look at him with a very angry expression on his face "Just saying"

"Is that what you want? Here's a little holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the mandarin, I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I am not afraid of you. I know you're a coward. So I decided you just died pal, I'm going to come get the body. There's no politics here it's just good old fashioned revenge. There's no pentagon here it's just you and me. And on the off chance your a man, here's my home address. 10880 Malibu point, 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked"

 _You god damn idiot_

"That's what you wanted right?" he asked grabbing the mans phone and throwing it against the brick pillar shattering it "Bill me" he added entering the car and driving off.

Shepard's phone rang as Tony pulled away "Hello"

"What the hell is he thinking!?" Natasha yelled over the phone.

"I think the problem is that he wasn't thinking, I will handle that situation. I have a lead on the bomb"

"What is it?"

"Happy was hurt in the last attack, turns out it wasn't a bomb. He told me someone took some type of drug"

"That's it? That's not much to go on"

"I know, but now we know it isn't a bomb, whatever this drug is it causes people to explode at such high temperatures that it vaporizes all traces of them even being there and etches everyone around into the walls and floors"

"What's the play here?"

"The Mandarin isn't going to let that threat Tony just issued to stand. He's going to attack him while he's at home. I'm going to be there when he does and find out for sure what's going on here"

* * *

Shepard pulled into the driveway as a missile hit the house "Tony!" he yelled getting out of the car and running inside to see him fly out the window with a woman in hand.

"Tony!"

The face mask lifted to reveal Pepper. Shepard ran inside the building with his armor on "Tony!" he yelled grabbing his attention as he fired at the helicopters.

"Nice of you to drop by!" he yelled blasting a piano at a helicopter "That's one!"

"You're the dumbass who threatened a terrorist on live television!" he countered back as Tony threw one of his missiles at the helicopter hitting it in the air with his repulsor.

"That's two!" he yelled "Maybe not my best moment!" he added to Shepard.

"Tony!" he yelled pointing at the helicopter crashing into the house.

"Oh boy" he ran backwards as the floor fell out from under them dropping them in the lab as the rest of the house went into the water.

 _This is going to suck_

Making contact with the surface of the water Tony had a wire wrapped around his neck pulling him down deeper into the water. Shepard swam after him using his thrusters to increase his speed. Reaching him he grabbed his hand pulling him out from under the rubble and pulling the wire off of him. Tony quickly ascended out of the water followed by Shepard.

Shepard landed on his face gasping for air watching Tony continue to ascend. Pepper ran over to him taking his helmet off. "Shepard! Where's Tony?!" she demanded worriedly.

"He's...he's..." Shepard passed out.

* * *

Shepard awoke in a bed looking to be in a hotel, Noticing Pepper and the woman from before he closed his eyes and laid silently listening to their conversation.

"You can't be too hard on yourself, Maya. You gave your work to a think tank"

"Yeah, but Killian built that think tank on military contracts"

"That's exactly what we used to do. So don't judge yourself"

"She's right you know" Shepard said sitting up groaning as he did "Shepard!" Pepper yelled grabbing him into a hug.

"Ow. Pepper still in pain"

"Oh, sorry" she let go with a worried look on her face.

"When I was younger, Maya. I used to kill people for money, wars and assassinations were just another pay check to me. But now I refuse to kill people unless I don't have a choice and I fight to protect people not hurt them" he slowly stood up.

"Thank you, Pepper, Shepard. I really appreciate that"

"So you couldn't figure out how to get me out of the armor?" Shepard asked with a smirk.

Pepper shrugged with an innocent smile on her face. A knock was heard at the door.

"Who is that?" Shepard asked drawing his gun.

"We called for room service relax" Pepper said answering the door as he lowered his gun "Hi, good evening. Come on in" she greeted opening the door for him.

"Good evening" he returned entering.

Shepard picked up his helmet when Pepper screamed "Maya, run!"

"Hi, Pepper" Killian said pinning her to the wall by the throat.

Shepard placed his helmet on and drew his weapon pointing it at him "Let her go!" he ordered.

"You mind telling me what you were doing at Stark's mansion last night?" he asked Maya ignoring Shepard.

"I'm trying to fix this thing, I didn't know you and The Master were going to blow the place up" she defended.

"Oh, I see. So, you were trying to save Stark when he threatened us?"

"I told you we can use him!"

Pepper started trying to push Killian off her failing horribly "Pepper, Pepper, Pepper" he sighed as she passed out from not being able to breath.

"Look, if we want to launch product next year, I need Stark. He just lacked a decent incentive now he has one" she said referring to Pepper.

"This is nice and all, but I am really beginning to dislike you Mr. Killian" Shepard said shooting him in the chest three times.

Killian stood there as if they had no effect "What's is that thing? A Bibi gun?" he asked punching Shepard in the chest sending him though the door.

 _That's new_

Shepard stood back up and punched Killian hard in the face breaking his nose, Killian started chuckling as his nose healed itself.

 _He's super strong and he heals from damage, great_

Shepard blocked Killian's kick to his abdomen head-butting him in response and smashing his face into the wall. Killian backhanded him sending him to the floor. Groaning he picked himself back up he drew his staff and swept his legs out from under him. he stood over him and hit him hard in the face repeatedly. Killian placed his hand on his boot burning him with his touch.

 _What the hell was that?_

Killian took a deep breath, releasing fire from his mouth. Shepard blocked it using his staff's shield "That's something you don't see everyday" he said annoyed.

"Really? That's it? Most people who see that for the first time are more surprised" Killian said deflated.

"Son, I fought a highly trained assassin with a bow, a indestructible green rage-monster, two literal gods, and an army of aliens all in the same twenty four hour period. Let's just say a man breathing fire isn't the weirdest thing I have seen"

"Fair enough" Killian grabbed Shepard by the throat lifting him easily "I think I will keep you for now, you could provide me some entertainment later on" he said with a smirk. Shepard began punching the sides of Killian's head having almost no effect he changed tactics. Using his body weight he placed his feet on Killian's chest and pulled on his arm sending him over his shoulder.

Struggling to stand back up because of his lack of air causing him to lose his balance. Killian stood back up and kicked him into the ground knocking him unconscious.

* * *

Shepard woke up held down by metal cuffs in a room that resembled a dungeon still in his armor with his helmet on the table.

"Commander Shepard, you're finally awake" Killian said approaching him "With Stark and Colonel Rhodes here, all that's left to be done is get Rhodes out of the suit and we are all set up"

"Is there a particular reason everyone who captures me tells me their whole master plan just for me to break out and stop it?"

"That's the thing I am going to kill you, so there will be no stopping it. I assure you I am prepared for any assault you might try to escape" Killian said smiling in his face.

Shepard head-butted him breaking his nose once again "Were you prepared for that assault asshole?"

"That's good, I like when you have a little fight in you. It makes it more fun. Sadly I will have to return to do that later, I have an Iron Patriot to replace" he said walking out of the room.

Shepard spent the next several minutes inching a lock pick out of his mouth and picking the lock on his restraints. Once he got them open he put on his helmet and looked outside the door seeing a hallway full of guards.

 _They really shouldn't have left all my weapons in the same room as me_ he smirked drawing his rifle. Shepard kicked the door open shooting all of them quickly as they reached for their weapons.

Reaching the exterior he noticed all the guards were down already "All personnel, Stark is loose and somewhere in the compound. Repeat, Stark is loose and somewhere in the compound" played over the PA.

"Looks like I am not the only one who doesn't stay tied up for long" he mused to himself.

Shepard called Tony using his interface "Shepard, I can't really talk right now-"

"I am in the compound too. Just broke out where are you?"

"Tony!" Rhodes said entering the call.

"Hey buddy please tell me that was you in the suit"

"No, you have yours?"

"Kind of"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shepard asked confused.

"Meet me at the main house guys, there is someone I'd like you to meet"

Shepard approached the main house hearing gunfire he broke open the door shooting three guards as he entered.

"I know it has something to do with a big boat off the coast. Oh! Olay, Olay, Olay, Olay!" the man chanted watching the TV as Rhodes stood over him with a gun to his face.

"Tony, I swear to god I am going to blow his face off"

"It also has something to do with the vice president. Is that important?"

"Somewhat" Tony said sarcastically.

"A little bit" Rhodes agreed.

"Who the hell is this? Am I to understand that this is The Mandarin?" Shepard asked incredulously entering the room

* * *

"Give me some good news man" Rhodey said opening the door.

"I got them all"

"Thank god"

"I couldn't get the president though, he was gone when I got there"

"If you couldn't save the president with the suit how are we going to do it with nothing?"

"We never have nothing, Colonel" Shepard said holding up a gun as an answer.

Shepard made a call "Natasha, The Mandarin isn't a real person. Aldrich Killian the leader of A.I.M. hired an actor Trevor Slattery to play the part of The Mandarin to cover up all the explosions. They weren't bombs, they were people taking a drug called extremis. It gives people super strength and healing abilities even greater than mine used to be. They also apparently get the ability to breathe fire and superheat anything they touch at will. Sometimes people take too much or can't handle it and they explode becoming the terror attacks made by The Mandarin"

"That's a lot to take in"

"Yes well I don't have a lot of time to take it in. Killian kidnapped the president, I'm sending you the location. Tony, Rhodes, and I are going after him"

"I wont be able to get anyone there in time"

"Then I suppose we're on our own" he said hanging up

* * *

"You're not going to freak out on me are you?" Rhodes asked.

"I hope not"

"Oh my god. They have the president strung up they're gonna burn him to death"

"Viking funeral. Public execution"

"Yeah, death by oil"

"Looks like the vice president is supporting them because his daughter is missing a leg. I suppose they needed a reason to make this look like a Mandarin attack again" Shepard explained reading through digital files on his interface.

"Makes sense"

They moved up to higher ground.

"Is your gun up?" Rhodes asked as they turned a corner.

"Yes" Tony put his gun up "What do I do?"

"Watch high, cover my six. Don't shoot me in the back"

"High, six, back. Got it"

"Watch your three!" Shepard yelled blocking the bullet with his back.

Tony shot the glass around the bulb lighting were they were as they took cover.

"You see that? Nailed it"

"You really nailed the glass" Rhodey said sarcastically.

"I was aiming for the bulb. You can't hit a bulb at this distance"

Rhodey stood up shot the bulb and returned to cover with a smug look.

"You were saying?" Shepard said with a smirk.

"I'm out give me another one"

"They aren't universal Tony"

"I know what I'm doing, I make this stuff. Give me another one"

"I don't have any that fit that gun"

"You have like five of them"

Shepard handed him a holdout pistol "Shut up"

"Thanks, here's what I am going to do I am going to spot" Tony said looking over for half a second.

"What'd you see?"

"Too fast nothing"

"Three males, one female. All armed" Shepard answered.

"Show off"

"I'd kill for some armor right now"

"You're right we need backup"

"Like a lot"

Several Iron Man suits showed up.

"Jarvis, target high heat signatures"

"Yes, sir"

"What are you waiting for? It's Christmas. Take them to church" Tony said as they attacked Killian's men.

"This is how you've been managing your down time huh?" Rhodes asked with a smile.

"Everybody needs a hobby"

"More like an obsession" Shepard said watching them work.

One Iron Man suit landed behind Stark opening for him to step inside "Nice timing"

"Oh ya that's awesome, give me a suit" Rhodey said excitedly.

"They're only encoded to me"

"What's that mean?"

"I got you covered" he answered taking off.

Rhodes looked at Shepard "Don't look at me, I'm keeping my suit" he said climbing higher.

Shepard entered the destroyed room to see Killian sitting on top of Tony's suit "Close your eyes"

Tony looked at Shepard and then back to Killian "Close your eyes you really don't want to see this" he said pulling his arm back with his hand superheated like a blade. Shepard cut off his hand as he swung with his sword kicking him off on Tony as his hand slowly grew back.

"Ya you take a minute, motherfucker" Shepard taunted Killian. Tony exited the suit as Pepper fell to a lower level running after her.

Killian punched Shepard back into the wall grabbing him by the throat "That...wasn't...very...nice" he growled superheating his hand.

Shepard head-butted him and used his boot's thrusters to push him away "You shouldn't have screwed with my family" he pulled his head down to his knee followed by a back hand. Killian grabbed his arm, Shepard broke his knee with his right leg. Killian yelled in pain throwing him out of the room and off the rig. using his thrusters he stopped himself in mid air only to be stabbed through his shoulder by one of Killian's men. Shepard cut his arm off with his sword allowing him to get free, landing himself against a wall he passed out from blood loss.

* * *

Shepard awoke in a hospital bed, Natasha sat in the chair next to him "Hey there"

"Hey. What happened?"

"You passed out from blood loss. You have been out for three weeks"

"Tony and Pepper? Rhodes and the president? Are they alright?"

"Yes they are all fine, Tony was able to cure Pepper of the extremis and Rhodes saved the president. All of Kilian's surviving men are in prison and Killian is dead"

Sighing in relief he looked at his arm which appeared to be completely healed "Guess I still heal faster than most people"

"That you do. Speaking of healing, Tony is going through some physical therapy after going into surgery and having the shrapnel in his chest removed. Doctors are saying he will make a full recovery"

"Glad to hear it, where has he been staying?"

"At the newly named Avengers Tower"

Shepard laughed lightly getting out of bed "What happened to Mr. Slattery?"

"He and the vice president were both arrested for their part in the Mandarin conspiracy"

"I still can't believe we thought he was the Mandarin" he said shaking his head.

"The magic of movie production"

"So...how long have you been waiting here?"

"Not long, just came to see how you were doing now that all the clean up from this mess was over and done"

Shepard smirked "I should get myself checked out of here. You can head on home if you want"

"Take care of yourself" she said turning and walking out of the building with a smile on her face.

"I'll try harder next time" he joked getting a small laugh from her as she left the building.

* * *

 **That's it for chapter nine, hope you all liked it"**


	10. The Winter Soldier

**Chapter ten! I have received some complaints about Shepard having basically the same lines as in the movies,. Guys come on the first chapter was a clear warning. I can promise you that will not be the case once I get past Civil War. If you don't like it don't read it. Thanks! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter ten: The Winter Soldier**

"On your left" Shepard said jogging past a fellow jogger as they jogged around Washington DC. Coming up behind him a second time he repeated himself "On your left"

"Uh-huh, on my left. Got it"

Catching up to him again "Don't say it! Don't you say it!" he yelled back.

"On your left!"

"Come on!" he tries to catch up tp him but stops to rest after a few seconds. He sits down under a tree catching his breath.

"Need a medic?" Shepard asks smirking.

He laughs in response "I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes"

"I guess I got a late start"

"Oh really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap" he hesitates for a moment before saying sarcastically "Did you just take it? I assumed you just took it"

"What unit are you with?"

"58th, para-rescue. But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson"

"Johnathan Shepard" he said giving him a hand up.

"I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you out that whole thing with New York"

"It takes some getting used to that's for sure. It's good to meet you Sam" he said turning to leave.

"It's your bed, right?"

"What's that?"

"your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I slept on the ground and used rocks for pillows, like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like-"

"Lying on a marshmallow. I feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor" he finished for him. Sam smiled and nodded his head "How long?"

"Two tours. You must miss the good old days, huh?"

"I'm retired, I don't miss a lot of things"

"You retire before or after New York?"

"Before, something always drags me back into the action"

Shepard gets a text from Natasha that says 'Mission alert. Extraction imminent. Meet at the curb. :)'

"Alright, Sam, duty calls, apparently. This is the stuff I am talking about. Thanks for the run. If that's what you want to call running" he said shaking his hand.

"Oh that's how it is?"

"Oh that's how it is" he said earning a laugh from Sam.

"Anytime you wanna stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know"

"I'll keep that in mind"

"Okay"

Natasha pulls up in her car at the curb rolling down her window "Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil"

"That's hilarious" Shepard says getting in the car.

"How you doing?" Sam asked with a wave.

"Hey" she greeted back

"You can't run everywhere" he said closing the door.

"No, you can't" he agrees as Natasha quickly pulls away and speeds off.

"Friend of yours?" she asked looking at him.

"Sam Wilson, I just met him five minutes ago"

"You looked like you were old buddies"

"He served, I served. That gives us enough to talk about for starters. Besides some people are just easy to get along with. Like you and Barton"

"I'm easy to get along with?"

"Okay, maybe not to most people. But I am certainly not most people"

"That you are not"

"So, what's so important that Fury called me in?"

"Fury didn't call you in, I did"

"What?"

"I decided I wanted some help on my mission today. You game?"

"What's the mission?"

"Hostage rescue"

"Sure why not, never a bad thing to save lives"

"No, I suppose not. We'll be briefed aboard the quinjet"

* * *

"The target is a mobile satellite platform: The Lemurian Star. It was sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago" Rumlow explained.

"Any demands?"

"A billion and a half"

"Why so steep?"

"Because it's SHIELD's"

"So it's not off course, it's trespassing" looking accusingly a Natasha.

"I'm sure they had a good reason" Natasha assured.

"You know I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor"

"Relax, it's not that complicated. Besides, I asked you here not Fury so technically you're my janitor" she smirked.

"How many pirates?"

"25, top mercs, led by this guy" Rumlow answers placing a picture of him on the screen.

"Georges Batroc. Ex-TGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's red notice" Shepard said upon seeing his face.

"Correct, before the French demobilized him, he had 36 kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties"

"Hostages?"

"Uh...mostly techs. One officer. Jasper Sitwell" Rumlow pulled up a picture of him "They're in the galley"

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship? Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Natasha, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to life pods. Get 'em out. Let's go" Shepard ordered.

"STRIKE, you heard the Commander. Gear up!" Natasha ordered.

"Secure channel seven" Shepard said into his earpiece.

"Seven secure" Natasha announced "You do anything fun Saturday night?"

"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so...no, not really" he joked.

"Coming up by the drop zone, Commander" Rumlow notified.

Shepard opened the hatch placing his helmet on "You know, if you ask Kristen out, from statistics, she'll probably say yes"

"That's why I don't ask" he countered.

"Too shy or too scared?"

"Not interested!" he yelled back as he jumped out of the jet.

"Was he wearing a parachute?" Rumlow asked.

"No. No, he wasn't" Natasha answered smiling.

Shepard used his thrusters to quietly land on the deck, he suffocates the pirate in front of him until he passes out moving the body out of sight. Swiftly taking out thirteen more pirates before being interrupted by one pointing a gun at the back of his head "Don't move" he ordered in French. Natasha shot the pirate as she landed behind him.

"Thanks"

"Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me" She joked "What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice"

"Secure the engine room, then find me a date"

"I'm multitasking" she called back as she jumped over the rail.

Shepard got himself in position directly across from Batroc who was sitting silently with two guards in the bridge "I'm in position"

"STRIKE in position" came Rumlow's response.

"Natasha, what's your status?" Shepard asked receiving silence in response "Status, Natasha?"

"Hang on!" came her reply followed by several moments of silence "Engine room secure"

"On my mark. 3-2-1"

Shepard smashes through the window slamming into a pirate as he enters. Standing up he shoots the other pirate as Batroc ran out the door with him following close behind.

"Hostages are on route to extraction. Romanoff's missed the rendezvous point, Commander. Hostiles are still in play"

"Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages" receiving no reply he tried again "Natasha!" Batroc kicks him in the chest sending him into a roll to get back on his feet. Blocking Batroc's attacks he kicks him in the abdomen throwing Batroc on his back. Quickly recovering he swings at him once more. Shepard blocks with his left arm and kicks him in the abdomen again sending him onto is back.

"I thought you were more than just a mask" he says in French as he stands back up. Shepard removed his helmet tossing it aside "Let's find out" he replied back in French.

Batroc charges him sending a flurry of kicks his way, he dodges them catching his leg he twisted it breaking the bone then kicked him though the door behind Batroc knocking it down. Shepard stands over him kicking him in the face to knock him out.

"Well, this is awkward" Natasha says looking at the scene in front of her as she downloaded something from the computer.

"What are you doing?"

"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into"

"That may be, but Rumlow needed your help. What the hell were you doing here?" he asked approaching and looking at the screen "You're saving SHIELD intel"

"Whatever I can get my hands on"

"Our mission is to rescue hostages-"

"No. That's your mission" she interrupted taking the drive out "And you've done it beautifully" she added as she walked past him. he grabbed her arm stopping her "You could've jeopardized this entire operation"

"I think that's overstating things-" Batroc suddenly stood up throwing a grenade at them as he runs out the door. Shepard kicks it back grabs Natasha and jumps through a window before it explodes.

"Okay. That one's on me" she relented.

"You're damn right" he said standing up angrily and helping Natasha to her feet.

 _Good going Romanoff, you screwed up again_ she chastised herself.

* * *

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Fury asked angrily.

"I asked Commander Shepard to help with my mission"

"Without informing me first, Romanoff?"

"I didn't think it needed reporting, it was just a friend helping a friend"

"What made you think this was okay?"

"I didn't think I could free the hostages and capture Batroc while also getting the data stored on the ship successfully even with STRIKE's help"

"So you asked Shepard to help you? And you still didn't capture Batroc"

"That was because of my error in judgment. I didn't tell Shepard all the details of the mission"

"You may as well tell Shepard anything and everything he'd want to know about, the man makes it his personal mission to know everything. He confronted me about project Insight just last week and I know for sure that no one told him about it"

"What did he have to say about it?"

"Things like 'The punishment should come after the crime not before' or 'we're pointing a loaded gun at humanity and calling it protection'. He said it's only a matter of time before someone figures out how to use it against SHIELD"

"Those aren't false assessments, sir"

"I know. That's what's been bothering me"

"Having second thoughts Nick?"

"You're dismissed, Agent Romanoff"

* * *

"You should be proud of yourself, Peggy"

"Mm. I have lived a life. My only regret is that you haven't lived yours"

"What do you mean?"

"You've never found the thing you've been looking for and now that your aging, I'm worried that you may never find it"

Shepard looks away sadly "What is it?"

"For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right. I lost who I was along the way, and when I finally did find myself again there was already so much blood on my hands. Sometimes I am not sure what is right anymore. I thought that if I stopped throwing myself into the fight that I could truly find what I wanted. Thing is the one thing I actually want is in the fight"

Peggy chuckles "You're always so dramatic. Look, you saved the world more times than anyone else ever has. We rather...mucked it up"

"You didn't. Knowing you helped found SHIELD is one of the only things that keeps me from turning my back on it"

Peggy took his hand in hers "The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over"

Shepard smiles "Maybe your right"

"Now I can see there is something else you want to talk about so spit it out"

He chuckled lightly "You always did know how to read me. I...met someone, and every time I feel like I am getting close to her she pulls away from me"

"You finally found yourself a girl? I am so happy for you! What is she like? What's her name?"

Shepard pulled up his phone to show her his contact picture of her "Her name is Natasha Romanoff, she is an Agent of SHIELD and a spy. She also joined the Avengers when we fought in New York. She's kind and has a great sense of humor. She's fiercely independent sometimes aggravatingly so. I have never met someone as beautiful as her before"

"You love her don't you?" Peggy asked with a smile.

"I...how would I even know? I have never been in love with someone before"

"When she is the first person you think about when you wake up in the morning and the last person when you go to sleep. When you get that nervous feeling in your stomach every time you see her. When you become painfully aware of your heartbeat when you see her smile. When you could listen to her voice for hours on end and never get tired of it. When you can talk for hours about literally nothing and not get bored. When you miss her even when she's only been gone a few seconds. That's when you'll know you love her"

Shepard was silent for a moment before a large smile appeared on his face "Thank you, Peggy. Know I know how I feel about her. The real question is what I do about it"

"Shepard, you've always been a secretive man by nature, you easily answer people truthfully without telling people anything about you. If you want her to trust you and let you see who she really is all the time. You're going to need to do the same for her, let her in and tell her everything about you and I am sure she will see she can trust you with the same"

Shepard kissed Peggy on the cheek "Thank you, I really needed this"

"You're welcome. I can see now that you have found what you have been looking for all this time. You deserve a little happiness"

* * *

"Look who it is. The running man" Sam said walking up to Shepard.

"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense"

"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret"

"You lose someone?"

"My wingman, Riley. Fly in the night mission. A standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till an RPG knocks Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was just up there to watch"

"I'm sorry"

"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"

"But you're happy now, back in the world?"

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?"

"No. I don't know. To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did"

"Ultimate fighting?" Shepard laughed "It's just an great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?"

"Natasha" he said without thinking.

"Redhead girl from before?"

"That's her. I honestly didn't expect to say that out loud"

"No judgement here man, If you want to be with her go right ahead. But don't stay somewhere you don't enjoy just because you want to be with her"

"Thank you, Sam. I should head home" he said turning to leave.

"Stop by anytime man. If you ever want to talk just let me know" with a wave.

"Will do" he waved back.

* * *

Shepard arrived back at home around midnight walking up to his apartment he heard music playing from the door. Shepard unlocked the door and drew his gun, seeing an empty he closed the door getting up against the wall and edging towards the next room. Drawing his gun on the man in the chair he noticed it was Nick Fury. He lowered his weapon with an annoyed sigh.

"I don't remember giving you a key"

"You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out"

"Didn't know you were married"

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me"

"No I do know, Nick. That's the problem" Shepard said turning the light on seeing Fury's injuries.

Motioning for him to be silent her turned the light off writing something on his phone and showing it to him 'ears everywhere'.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash" he writes another statement on his phone 'SHIELD compromised'.

"Who else knows about your wife?"

Showing him another message 'You and me' "Just...my friends"

"Is that what we are?"

"That's up to you" Suddenly Fury gets shot three times through the window. Shepard looks outside to see the shooter dragging Fury behind the wall into the next room "Don't...trust anyone" he said handing him a flash drive. His door gets broken down "Commander Shepard?" said his neighbor "Commander, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD's Special Service.

"I know, Fury assigned you to protect me. Fury is down"

She ran into the room checking Fury "Foxtrot is down, he's unresponsive. I need EMT's" she said into her radio.

"Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" came the reply as Shepard suited up "Tell them I am in pursuit" he said before he smashed through the window into an office building, he smashes through multiple doors following after the assassin. Smashing through another window he caught up to him firing at him the assassin blocked the bullets with his metal arm. Pulling a pistol out of its holster he fires at Shepard as he rolls behind an air conditioning unit. Looking back over his cover he found the roof empty with no sign of where he went.

"Damn"

* * *

Shepard watched Fury in surgery with his helmet under his arm as Natasha entered the room "Is he gonna make it?"

"I don't know"

"Tell me about the shooter"

"He's fast and strong. He had a metal arm and wore a mask over his face so I couldn't see who it was"

"Ballistics?"

"Three slugs. No rifling and completely untraceable"

"Soviet made?"

"Yeah"

 _She knows something, I will have to ask her when there aren't so many people around_

Fury's stated was deteriorating quickly flat lining.

"Don't do this to me, Nick" Natasha repeated as they tried to resuscitate him failing each time.

Natasha walked out angrily, Shepard followed her out.

"Natasha!"

"Why was Fury in your apartment?"

"I don't know" he answered winking at her as Rumlow approached behind him.

"Commander, they want you back at SHIELD"

"Yeah, give me a second"

"They want you now" he insisted.

"Okay" he answered glaring darkly at him causing him to back off.

"I'll meet you back here later" she said walking away.

"STRIKE team escort Commander Shepard back to SHIELD immediately" came though Rumlow's radio

"I told him" he answered.

Shepard hid the flash drive at the back of the gum rack in the vending machine.

"Let's go" he said walking past Rumlow.

"Yeah. STRIKE, move it out"

* * *

"For whatever it's worth, you did your best" Peirce assured Agent 13.

"Thank you, sir"

"Neighbor" Shepard greeted walking past her.

"Ah, Commander. Good to see you again" he said extending his hand.

"let's get on with this"

"As you wish" he said following him in, Shepard placed his helmet on the table as he sat down.

"Why was Nick in your apartment last night?"

"You know it was bugged?"

"I did, and Nick told me"

"Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?"

Shepard's expression showed no sign of surprise.

"I want you to see something" he says putting up footage of Batroc being interrogated.

"Who hired you Batroc?" the agent on tape asked.

"Live?"

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers"

"You're not saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line"

"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech"

"Am I supposed to know who that is?"

Peirce hands him the file "Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick his mother lived at 14-37"

"Are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"

"Well the prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour when Agent Romanoff asked for your help and that led to Nick's death"

"If you really knew Nick Fury you know that's not true"

"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could really be happy today, makes me really, really angry. Commander, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"

"He told me that his wife kicked him out"

"Nothing else?"

"I'm sorry. Those were his only words to me. Excuse me" he said picking up his helmet and begins making his way out of the room.

"Commander" Shepard stopped at the door "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone"

Shepard walked out of the office without a word and walking to the elevator. Stepping inside the elevator he ordered "Operations control"

"Confirmed" it replies.

Rumlow puts his hand in between the doors and steps in with two agents "Forensics"

"Confirmed"

"Commander"

"Rumlow"

"Evidence response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see. You want me to get the tac-team ready?"

"No, let's wait an see what is first" Shepard answered.

 _Why are their hands hovering over their weapons?_

The elevator stopped letting several agents inside saying their destinations.

"Um...sorry about what happened to Fury. Messed up what happened to him" Rumlow said sweating.

"Thank you" Shepard looks around noticing some of the men inside are sweating nervously. The elevator stops again letting more agents inside.

"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"

Suddenly an agent attacks him with an shock baton, he snaps his arm using his helmet as a bludgeon as he is grabbed from behind making him drop his helmet, the agents try sticking his arms to the metal with magnetic cuffs. Shepard manages to fight off several of them as one cuff sticks to the metal support. Using his legs he knocks out four more agents using them to knock down the remaining three. Shepard grabbed the cuff and using his body weight detached it from the support flipping backwards over the agent charging him he kicks him in the back sending him into the glass. Shepard then flips the next one by his leg knocking him out.

"Woah, big guy. I just want you to know this isn't personal!" Rumlow yelled swinging both shock batons at him. Using his arms he snapped one in half catching the other one he smashes Rumlow's head against the doors. Kicking his helmet up into his hands he placed it on his head "It kind of feels personal"

Opening the elevator doors he's greeted by a squad of STRIKE agents aiming at him "Drop the sword on the ground and put your hands in the air!"

Shepard spun to his left unsheathing his sword he cut the cables keeping the elevator in place dropping several floors. Opening the doors he finds more STRIKE agents running towards him. He closes the doors.

"Give it up, Shepard! Get that door open now! You have nowhere to go!"

 _I wouldn't be so sure_

Cutting the glass open he jumped out of the elevator opening his staff's shield he used it to block the glass and buffer his landing. Getting up he ran to the garage stealing a bike and barely escaping before the gates shut behind him. Spikes came up at the checkpoint as a quinjet hovered above it.

"Stand down, Commander Shepard! Stand down!" played over the PA. Shepard accelerated towards him as the gun fired at him. he threw his sword into the rotor using his thrusters to get him on top of the jet he pulled the sword out. The jet banked left as he took it out causing him to fall backwards using his sword to stop himself from falling off by stabbing it into the wing as he hung off the edge. Climbing back on he sliced open the back engines of the jet and jumped off landing on the other side of the checkpoint.

 _Better luck next time, Pierce_

* * *

Shepard entered the hospital walking to the vending machine in casual clothing he noticed the gum rack was empty. Natasha's reflection showed behind his as she popped a bubble of gum. Shepard pulled her into another room closing the door behind them.

"Where is it?" he asked calmly.

"Safe"

"Do better"

"Where did you get it?"

"Fury gave it to me"

"Why?"

"What's on it?"

"I don't know"

"Fury hired the pirates"

"Makes sense, the ship was dirty and Fury needed a way in, so do you"

"I know you knew"

"How?"

"Who killed Fury?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"Your reaction to him having a metal arm and when I told you about the weapon he used you guessed in was soviet. Spill it"

Natasha looked at him skeptically "Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones that who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years. He's a ghost story"

"I know the name, never met the man until last night"

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight though me. Soviet slug, no rifling" she explained showing him her scare "Bye-bye bikinis"

"Yeah, I bet you still look beautiful in them"

"You think I am beautiful?" she asked with a faint smile.

"I have a ghost to hunt"

"Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried" Natasha said holding the drive in his face "Like I said, he's a ghost story"

Shepard grabbed it from her "Well let's find out what the ghost wants"

* * *

"First rule of going on the run-" Natasha started to explain.

"Don't run. Walk" he finished "I have done this before you know. Besides if I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off" he added leading her into a mac store and use one of their computers.

"The drive has a level six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are" Natasha explained.

"How much time do we have?"

"Uh...about nine minutes from-" she places it into the compute "-Now" she began picking through the files "Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands"

"Can you override it?"

"The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly"

"Can I help you?" an employee asks approaching them.

"Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations" Natasha said grabbing Shepard's arm with a innocent mask.

"Sometimes I still can't believe we are getting married" he said with his own emotional mask.

"Congratulations. Where are you guys thinking about going?"

"New Jersey" Shepard answered seeing that's where the signal was from the corner of his eye.

"Oh" he looks at Shepard for a long moment "I...have the exact same glasses"

"Wow you two are practically twins" Natasha sarcastically commented looking back at the screen.

"Yeah, I wish. Specimen" he said referring to Shepard's physique "Uh...If you guys need anything, I've been Aaron" he said pointing to his name tag.

"Thank you"

Shepard noticed STRIKE agents walking through the mall "Natasha"

"Shh, Relax. Got it" The map showed the signal coming from Wheaton, New Jersey, a look of recognition crossed his eyes "You know it?" she asked.

"I used to. Let's go" he pulls the flash drive from the computer and leads her out "Standard tac-team. Two behind, two across, two coming straight at us" he assessed looking straight ahead.

Shepard put his arm around her and faked a laugh passing right by them "I am impressed" she whispered to him with a smirk "Told you this wasn't my first rodeo"

Natasha spots Rumlow on the escalator "Kiss me" Shepard did as he was told without hesitation, Rumlow looked away upon seeing them. Passing by him they stopped kissing and made their way down and out of the mall

* * *

"Where did Commander Shepard learn how to steal a car?" she asked curiously.

"London, 1935. And we aren't stealing, we are borrowing"

Natasha smirks at him putting her feet on the dashboard.

"Alright, I have a question for you, of which you don't have to answer. I feel if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?"

"What?"

"When was the last time you kissed someone?"

"That bad, huh?"

"I didn't say that"

"Well, it kind of sounds like that's what your saying"

"No, I didn't. I just wondered how much practice you had"

"I don't need practice"

"Everybody needs practice"

"I don't remember the last time I kissed somebody, sometime before the first world war"

"That's a long time ago. Not compared to my entire lifespan, and honestly I just haven't been interested in anyone"

"Nobody special?"

Shepard chuckled _if you only knew_ "Believe it or not, it's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience"

"Well, that's alright, you just make something up"

"Not my style. Do you do that?"

"I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances, it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I"

"That's a tough way to live"

"It's a good way not to die, though"

"I seem to be doing okay. You know it's hard to trust someone when you don't know who that somebody really is"

"Yeah. Who do you want me to be?"

"How about you?"

Natasha laughs softly "Well, there's a chance you might be in the wrong business, Shepard"

* * *

"This is it?"

"The file came from these coordinates"

"This is where I was tested for Erskine's serum"

"Changed much?"

"A little"

"This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must've used a router to throw people off"

"Not exactly, there's one place I can think of" Shepard said leading them to a building ahead of them.

"What is it?"

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place" Shepard explained leading her inside "Also some other reasons" They entered the building to find desks with computers and a SHIELD symbol on the wall.

"This is SHIELD"

"Where it all started" he said walking into a room with four portraits.

"There's Stark's father" she said looking at one of the portraits.

"Howard"

"Who are the other three?"

"Colonel Chester Phillips and Margaret Peggy Carter"

"That's only two" she pointed at looking at the portrait with its top half torn out and the name scratched off.

"The other one is the only founder who left SHIELD"

"The only people who left SHIELD without retiring were Hank Pym and...That's you isn't it?"

"If your already working in a secret office-" Shepard moves the massive book shelve out of the way "Why hide the elevator?"

* * *

Exiting the elevator they enter a computer room "This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient" Noticing a small flash dive port she places the drive into it successfully activating the computers around them.

"Initiate system?" the computer asked.

"Y-E-S, spells yes" Natasha said typing on the keyboard. Smiling as the computer cranks up "Shall we play a game?" she says turning to Shepard "It's from a movie that-"

"Yeah, I saw it" he said smirking.

Suddenly an accented voice begins speaking "Shepard, Johnathan. Born, 925" the camera turns to Natasha "Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984"

"It's some kind of recording"

"I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Commander took me prisoner in 1945, but I am" The computer shows a picture of Dr. Arnim Zola.

"Do you know this thing?"

"Dr. Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years"

"First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain"

"How did you get here?"

"It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientist with strategic values. They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own"

"Why didn't they tell me this? I could've told them that was a bad idea from the start"

"That's exactly why the didn't tell you Commander"

"Hydra died with the Red Skull"

"Cut off one head, two more shall takes it's place"

"Prove it" Natasha demanded.

"Ah, but you've already begun to piece the puzzle together haven't you Commander?"

"Shepard?" Natasha asked curiously.

"I left SHIELD because I knew something was wrong, I found out my mission reports were being altered, when I confronted Howard Stark he said he would handle it. He ended up dead a week later. That's why I left"

"That doesn't explain Hydra"

"I wasn't done. Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. I imagine you figured out taking that freedom only leads to rebellion. You want humanity to hand over its freedom willingly"

"Correct, when I was recruited for SHIELD the new Hydra grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years Hydra has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed"

"That's impossible, SHIELD would've stopped you" Natasha said in disbelief.

"Accidents will happen" he said as the screen showed Hydra killed Howard and Maria Stark making it look like a car accident and the recent Nick Fury along with a picture of the Winter Soldier.

"Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice it's freedom to gain it's security. Once the purification process is complete, Hydra's new world order will arise. We won, Commander. Your death will amount to the same as your life; a zero sum" Natasha smashed the screen in anger.

"That's not true, Shepard. I know your life has amounted to many great things"

"Some terrible things too"

"As I was saying" Zola's face appeared on another screen "Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm"

"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha asked.

"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately you will be too dead to hear it"

"We have a missile coming our way, thirty seconds"

"Who launched it?"

"SHIELD"

"Admit it, Commander" Shepard pulled out a floor grate throwing Natasha inside "It's better this way. We are both of us...out of time"

An explosion ripped the place apart as Shepard blocked the rubble with his shield. Lifting all the rubble off them he picked up Natasha who was unconscious and took her to the car they arrived in placing her in the back he drove off.

* * *

"Where am I?" Natasha asked sitting up as the sun came up.

"Hey, look who's finally awake" he said looking back at her through the rearview mirror.

"What happened?" she asked climbing into the front seat.

"You got hit on the head as a result of the explosion, I took you here and here we are now"

"Sorry for the inconvenience"

"It's nothing"

"What did you mean before? About the terrible things?"

"..."

"Shepard?"

"..."

"John?"

"Would you tell me? If our positions were reversed?"

"I...I don't know"

Shepard sighed deeply "You know how I used to fight in wars and assassinations for money?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"In 1914 I was hired to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria"

"Wait a minute isn't that the guy who's death started WWI?"

"Yes, and those subsequent events started WWII as well. I started two world wars for twenty-five grand. That's how little everything meant to me"

"You couldn't have known that job would've started two wars. That isn't your fault"

"I know, I am more talking about the fact that I didn't care that I did it until just before the first one ended. Then I couldn't stop thinking about it"

"That isn't you anymore. I have seen first hand the good man that you are"

"You won't think so after this next part"

"Why not?"

"1986 I was sent on a mission where I met Nick Fury when he still worked for the CIA. My mission was to capture Dr. Braun the man responsible for creating the serum they used in the Red Room Program. I found evidence of the Red Room Program that I could've used to put an end to it. Instead I gave it to Director Pierce who told me he would handle it"

"I was four years old when I was stolen for Red Room"

"You were two years old when I went on that mission. I should've gone after them myself. If I had you would've never had to go through what you did and you could've had a normal life with your parents" Shepard explained with an extremely pained expression "I can never forgive myself for that. And I'll understand if you don't either"

"I don't blame you"

"What?" he said shocked.

"I blame Pierce. When I looked at your file a few years ago. I found a passage that wasn't blacked out and was redacted from the digital copy. It was an order from Pierce to keep a close eye on you as you were getting suspicious at his reluctance to take down the Red Room Program"

"That son of a bitch! That's why all the leads I had on them didn't pan out. Pierce is part of Hydra and he wanted personal assassins and spies from the KGB"

"He only got one. And I sure as hell am not helping him"

Shepard smiled at her "Thank you, I wasn't expecting you to be so understanding"

"I have done my fair share of horrible acts too. I just never expected to find someone with more red in their ledger than me. We can work to wipe them clean together"

"Sounds like a plan"

"So...where are we headed?"

"A friends"

* * *

"Hey, man" Sam said surprised when he opened his door to see them.

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low" Shepard informed him.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us" she added.

"Not everyone" Sam said letting them enter.

Shepard entered the bathroom and began cleaning up. He noticed Natasha sitting on the bed looking sad and thoughtful.

"You okay?"

"Yeah"

Shepard walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to her "What's going on?"

Natasha looked at him pausing for a moment "When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for Hydra. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore"

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business"

Natasha smiles faintly "I owe you"

"It's okay"

"If it was the other way around all those times you saved me, and it was down to me to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?"

"Yes" he answered genuinely without hesitation "And I'm always honest" he added smirking.

"Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they recreated the very organization you intended to prevent"

"Well, I guess I just like to know who I am fighting"

Natasha started slowly leaning toward Shepard as he leaned in "I made breakfast" Sam said entering the room making them pull back quickly "If you guys...eat that sort of thing"

* * *

"So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha asked.

"Pierce" Shepard answered simply.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world"

"But he's not working alone, Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star"

"So was Jasper Sitwell"

"So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"

"The answer is: you don't" Sam answers droping a file in front of Shepard.

"What's this?"

"Call it a résumé"

Natasha picks up the file "Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you. You didn't say he was a para-rescue"

"You didn't ask. Is this Riley?"

"Yeah" Sam answered.

"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?" Natasha asked.

"No. These" he answered dropping a photo on the table.

"I thought you said you're a pilot" Shepard said with an amused smile.

"I never said a pilot"

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason"

"Dude, Commander Shepard needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in"

"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?" Natasha asked.

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall" Shepard looks at Natasha who shrugs her shoulders.

"Shouldn't be a problem" Shepard answers with a smirk.

* * *

 **That's chapter ten for you. Next chapter will finish up the movie and that only leaves me with too more to get though! Hope you liked it.**


	11. Insight

**Thank you guys for all your support! Next chapter won't be a movie chapter so those of you who don't like these ones don't have to worry there won't be many more**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter eleven: Insight**

Shepard threw Jasper Sitwell onto the roof with Natasha following closely behind him "Tell me about Zola's algorithm" he demanded.

"Never heard of it"

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up, I get seasick" Shepard holds Sitwell by the throat loosely over the edge of the roof, Sitwell just smiles "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's not really your style Shepard"

Shepard puts him back onto the roof and fixes his suit for him "You're right. It's not" stepping aside "It's hers" Natasha kicks him off the roof, he plummets down screaming.

"Oh, What about that girl from accounting, Laura?"

"Lillian. Lip piercing, right?"

"Yeah, she's cute"

"Yeah, I'm not ready for that"

"Right, sometimes I forget you are from a different time period"

"Many different periods"

Suddenly Sam brings Sitwell back onto the roof with his Falcon jet-pack suit throwing him down.

"Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing insight's targets!" he said quickly shaking in fear.

"What targets?"

"You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephan Strange, Tony Stark, anyone who's a threat to Hydra! Now or in the future"

"The future? How could it know?"

"How could it not?" he asked laughing "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught Hydra how to read it"

Shepard and Natasha look at him in confusion.

"You bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, you damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future"

"And what then?"

"Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me"

"What then?" Shepard demanded pinning him to the door to the roof.

"Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time"

* * *

"Hydra doesn't like leaks" Sitwell said sitting in the back of the car.

"So why don't you try sticking a cork in it?" Sam asked annoyed.

"Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close guys" Natasha said leaning into the front seat.

"I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Hellicarriers directly"

"What?! Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea" Sitwell yells in distress.

Suddenly a metal arm reaches into the car throwing Sitwell through the window and into oncoming traffic. Natasha jumps into Shepard's lap avoiding a bullet through the roof pulling his head towards her to avoid a bullet aimed for him, then she kicked Sam in the shoulder knocking him out of the way of another bullet. Shepard pulls the break handle throwing the Soldier onto the road.

Another car rams them from behind as the Soldier jumps back onto the roof and removes the steering wheel "Shit!" Sam yelled in a panic. Natasha pulled out her gun and started shooting at him as he jumped to the hood of the car behind them as they are forced off the road. Shepard grabs the door and Natasha "Hang on!" he yells to Sam who grabs him as he breaks the door off and slides on it as the car starts flipping. Sam fell off as the slid rolling to a stop while Shepard held Natasha tightly to the door.

The Winter Soldier shoots a grenade launcher at Shepard and Natasha. He pushes her out of the way kicking the car door up to use as a shield. Shepard was thrown off the bridge and through a bus windshield by the blast. Natasha jumps off the other end of the bridge swinging under it to avoid a car flying towards her from an explosion. Running towards Shepard she notices the Soldier's shadow. She stopped pulled both her pistols and shot up at him hitting his goggles.

Natasha ran as he came back up and fired his rifle where she had previously been "I'll take car of her. Find him" he ordered his men in Russian jumping off the bridge and following after her. His men started to set up zip-lines to get down off the bridge. Sam stopped one as he attempted to jump slicing his weapon strap off him with a combat knife and kicking him off the bridge as he caught his weapon.

Shepard came crashing through the back window of the bus firing both his pistols taking down two of them then moving to get behind cover. Sam shot one from the bridge and started firing at another "Go! I got this!" he yelled firing at the Hydra agent as he stood back up hitting him. Shepard nodded and ran in Natasha's direction.

"Get out of the way! Stay out of the way!" Natasha yelled to the civilians as she ran, she stopped and got in cover behind a car as she received a bullet in her left shoulder. The Winter Soldier jumps onto the car aiming at her as she turned to him. Shepard tackled him off the hood making him drop his rifle. He drew an SMG as Shepard kicked it from his hands. He punched him in the chest using his metal arm to send him backwards several feet, drawing a pistol her fired at him. Shepard rolled left then back right to avoid another bullet, grabbing the gun he head-butted him wrenching it from his grasp he took the weapon apart.

The Winter Soldier swung his metal arm for his head, Shepard ducked under it punching him in the abdomen he grabbed him from behind and slammed him on the ground. Picking him back up he threw him into the side of a fan kicking him in the abdomen denting the door, he then rammed his knee into his chest denting the door even further. The Soldier drew a knife swinging it at him Shepard grabbed his arm hitting the underside of it with his fist forcing him to drop the knife.

The Soldier caught it with his metal arm and swung again only for Shepard to flip him back into the van door over his shoulder making him drop the knife. Standing back up he grabbed Shepard by the throat with his metal arm throwing him over the hood of the van. Jumping over the hood he smashed his fist into the ground where he was supposed to be. Shepard kneed him in the face, the Soldier swung wildly causing Shepard to jump away.

Unsheathing a second knife he pinned Shepard to the van and thrust the knife towards him, Shepard moved his head as it embedded into the door. The Soldier's metal arm forced him to go left as he forced the knife through the car trying to stab him. Shepard punched him hard in the face knocking his mask lose, he stabbed the knife from the door into his metal arm catching a punch from the other he hit him in the face with an uppercut. Moving behind him he grabbed him by his face and threw him over his shoulder throwing the mask off as he did.

Shepard stared in shock of who he saw "Bucky?"

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he asked drawing a second pistol. Sam hit him from behind in his Falcon jet-pack landing beside Shepard. Bucky rolled onto his feet and aimed the gun at Shepard. With an uncertain look in his eye he raised the gun towards Shepard's head before ducking out of the way of a grenade fired by a wounded Natasha.

Shepard turned to see her before turning back to see Bucky had disappeared. Vans full of Hydra agents pulled up pointing their weapons at them "On your knees! Now! Get down! Rumlow ordered exiting the vehicle. Shepard held his hands up and dropped to his knees. One Hydra agent pointed his in to his head "Put the gun down" Rumlow ordered looking at the news chopper "Not here. Not here!" They quickly packed the three of them into one of the vehicles and drove off.

* * *

"It was him. He looked right at me and he didn't even know me. Hell he didn't even know who he was" Shepard said solemnly.

"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago man" Sam asked.

"Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on 'em. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him"

"None of that's your fault, Shepard" Natasha groaned out.

"Yes it is. If I hadn't refused to join the war it would've ended before Bucky was old enough to enlist. If he never enlisted then he never would've ended up as Hydra's tool. I am responsible for all of that. Especially because it's my fault those wars happened and that Hydra even existed"

"Don't blame yourself" she breathed out exhausted.

"We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck" Sam said to the guard who showed him his shock baton in response.

"That's the idea, Sam. They're gonna kill us when they get where they're going" Shepard said annoyed.

Suddenly that same guard shocked the other knocking him out. Taking off his helmet he was revealed as Maria Hill "That thing was squeezing my brain" she groaned looking a Sam "Who's this guy?"

* * *

Entering the secret facility a doctor came forward "GSW. She's lost at least a pint" Hill called to him.

"Maybe two" Sam put in.

"Let me take her!" he called back.

"She'll want to see him first" opening a door she walked them in to see Nick Fury lying in bed "About damn time" he said looking at them with a smirk.

"How are you doing old man?"

"You're not shocked?" Natasha asked annoyed.

"I just saw my friend from seventy years ago is still alive and found out Hydra still exists. This isn't nearly as surprising"

"Well according to the doctor I have a bad case of Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache"

"Let's not forget your collapsed lung"

"Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good"

Natasha was having her wound treated "They cut you open, your heart stopped"

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it"

"Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?" Shepard asked.

Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful" Hill explained.

"Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust" Nick pulled a photo of Alexander Pierce up "This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said 'Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility' See, its stuff like this that gives me trust issues"

"We have to stop the launch" Natasha said standing up.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore" Fury said opening a case with three chips inside.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with insight satellites becoming fully weaponized" Hill explained.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own" Fury added.

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die" Hill continued.

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe we can salvage what's left-" Fury began.

"We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD" Shepard interjected.

"SHIELD had nothing to do with it"

"You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you've said so yourself. Hydra was right under your nose and nobody noticed"

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed"

"And how many paid the price before you did?"

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes"

"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes"

"He's right" Natasha spoke up.

Fury looked at Hill who nodded in agreement then to Sam "Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower"

"Well...Looks like you're giving the orders now, Commander" Fury relented.

Shepard nodded and left the room heading out towards the bridge.

"You know he wasn't talking just about you" Natasha said to Fury.

"I know, he blames himself for not seeing it. And more so for what happened to Barnes"

"Not just that. He blames himself for Hydra even existing"

* * *

Shepard looked out over the bridge at the water below thinking back during the war.

 _Why do you always go off so recklessly? You could've gotten yourself killed!_

 _Bucky, I appreciate your concern. I only did it to save the villagers from the bombs, if I hadn't done anything they'd be dead now_

 _That may be true but you had the whole team to back you up and you told us to just stay back_

 _Which you didn't do_

 _Of course we didn't you needed our help_

 _I can take care of myself just fine, Bucky. I have been doing it long enough haven't I?_

 _The thing is you don't have to. I am with to the end of the line_

"He's gonna be there, you know?" Sam said interrupting his thoughts.

"I know"

"Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop"

"I'd die a hundred times over before I could do that"

"Well, he might not give you a choice. He doesn't know you"

"He will. I practically raised him after his mother passed away. I didn't abandon him then and I won't now. Gear up, it's time"

"You gonna wear that?"

"No. If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform" he smirked.

* * *

"Excuse us" Shepard said with his gun pointed at the technician who opened the door as he, Sam, and Hill entered the room. Shepard took his helmet off placing it down next to the PA microphone "Time to got to work" he silently said to himself.

"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Commander Shepard. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, Hydra will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not" he finished placing his helmet back on.

"Did you right that down first, or was that off the top of your head?" Sam asked smirking.

* * *

"Hey, Commander, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" Sam asked as they made their way to the carriers.

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad"

Sam flies off to one of the carriers as Shepard goes to another, arriving aboard they both were shot at by Hydra agents.

"Hey, Commander! I found those bad guys you were talking about" came through his ear piece.

"You okay?" Shepard asked hitting a Hydra agent in the throat and shoot three more with his rifle.

"Not dead yet"

"Eight minutes, Shepard" Hill notified.

"Working on it!" he answered back snapping the leg of another agent.

Shepard made his way into the carriers controls and placed the chip inside "Alpha locked"

"Falcon, where are you?" Hill asked.

"I had to take a detour! Oh, yeah! Bravo locked"

"Two down, one to go" Hill notified.

Shepard used his thrusters to fly over to the next carrier as Sam arrives next to him Bucky kicks Shepard off the carrier before grabbing his wing and tearing one off throwing him off the carrier. Sam used his parachute to land on the Triskelion roof "Shepard! You okay?"

Shepard's hanging from the side of the carrier "Yeah, I'm here! I'm still on the carrier"

"I'm grounded. The suit's down, sorry"

"Don't worry, I've got it" he said pulling himself up. Entering the control room he found Bucky standing in front of where he needed to go "People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen"

Bucky stares coldly at him "Don't make me do this" Shepard said taking out his staff. Seeing Bucky not standing down he charged him. Shepard ducked under his metal arm swinging at his head he kicked him back hitting him with the staffs shield sending him on his back. Bucky recovered and charged him. Shepard ran at him flipping over him at the last moment he hits Bucky in the back with his staff knocking him down. Shepard presses the button to reveal the chips as he takes out the chip Bucky kicks it out of his hand.

Shepard hit him in the face then the ribs with the other end. Bucky grabs the staff and kicks him over the railing, he uses his metal arm to snap it in half. Following after Shepard he unsheathed a knife. blocking the knife he broke it with his arm as he got stabbed between his shoulder plates with a second knife as Bucky grabs the chip. Shepard backhands him takes the bloody knife out then grabs him by the throat slamming him into the ground.

"Drop it!" he yelled breaking his arm causing him to yell in pain "Drop it!" he repeated stabbing his metal arm with his sword and punching him in the face until he passed out. Grabbing the chip he climbed back up to the chip section. "Thirty seconds!" Hill yelled over the earpiece. Bucky regained consciousness and shot Shepard in the back between the shoulder plates dropping him to the ground in pain. He slowly stood up and placed the chip inside the system "Charlie locked"

"Get out of there, Commander" Hill said as the carriers started targeting each other.

"Fire now"

"But, Shepard-"

"Do it! Do it now!"

As the carriers opened fire on each other Bucky became trapped under a support beam.

* * *

Sam jumped from the Triskelion as the building came down towards the helicopter. Fury turned the chopper sideways so he wouldn't get killed in the blades. Sam crashed through the door as Natasha caught him "41st Floor!" he yelled at Fury.

"It's not like they put the floor numbers on the outside of the building!"

"Hill, where is Shepard?" Natasha asked worriedly.

Shepard helped Bucky out from under the beam "You know me" he says as Bucky stood up "No, I don't!" he yelled punching him.

"Bucky, you've known me your whole life" Bucky hits him again as he decides not to fight back.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes"

"Shut up!" he says hitting him again.

Shepard drops his sword through the glass "I'm not going to fight you. You're my friend"

Bucky tackles him to the ground screaming in anger "You're my mission!" he yelled as he mercilessly punched his helmet "You're my mission!"

"Then finish it"

Bucky hesitates with his next punch "Because I am with you to the end of the line" A look of recognition crosses his face just as the carries bottom falls sending Shepard down into the river as Bucky grabbed onto the carrier.

"Shepard's going under!" Fury yelled flying low towards the water "I'll get him!" Natasha yelled jumping into the water as she desperately searched for him. She came back up for air then went back under looking around still not finding him. Returning to the surface for air "I can't find him, Fury-" She stopped as she saw him lying on the shore with The Winter Soldier walking away from him. Rushing to the shore she tore his helmet off and started performing CPR "I found him Fury! Get EMT's down here!"

* * *

Shepard awoke in the hospital seeing Sam sitting next to his bed in a chair reading a book "On your left"

Sam turned surprised and smiled seeing he was awake "Glad to see you are up"

"What happened?"

"We won. SHIELD and Hydra are gone for the most part with stragglers here and there"

"How did I get here? I remember falling out of the carrier"

"Natasha's crazy ass jumped into the water to pull you out"

"Natasha save me then?"

"Not according to her, said you were on the shore when she found you with Barnes walking away from you"

"Bucky save me?" he asked with a grin on his face "I knew it. I knew he was still in there"

"You were right, I'm sorry for not believing in him"

"You didn't know him. I didn't expect you to"

"Thanks man" he said with a small smile.

"So where is Natasha now? or Fury and Hill?"

"Fury disappeared after we rushed you to the hospital and Hill is currently working for Stark at the Avengers Tower. Natasha just finished kicking ass at the her court hearing"

"Look who's awake" Tony said knocking on the door with flowers "I brought flowers, didn't know if you liked that sort of thing being old and all"

"Good to see you, Tony"

"You know Romanoff has been in here everyday and didn't leave until she had to go to the hearing"

"Really?"

"I was surprised myself. How come you didn't call me? Iron Man would've been glad to help"

"I didn't think you were making suits anymore"

"I still make a few now and again just in case I am needed. Officially I am retired from the hero business"

"You and me both pal. It doesn't seem to want to let me go"

"With Hydra resurfacing like it did, I suppose I will be back in the game for awhile just until the Avengers take them down" he said with a smirk.

"Is that an invitation?" Natasha asked entering the room.

"Romanoff, glad to see you're back. I could've helped you with my legal team like Hill you know"

"I know, that's why I didn't ask. I wanted to defend myself not hide behind a wall of lawyers"

"Well once Shepard recovers we will all be hunting Hydra together, I called Barton and Banner and they are on their way. I have set up floors for each of our lovely heroes"

"That's an offer I will take you up on" Shepard said smirking "I will need some of your resources to find Bucky afterward though"

"I will do my best. That just leaves you, miss Romanoff. Will you be joining us at the Avengers Tower for our quest to stop Hydra?"

"I'll think about it"

"Good enough, let me know by the time he is up and at 'em" he said walking out of the room.

"Stark!" She called him back in "Yes?"

"I have a favor to ask" she whispered something in his ear "I will do so with the utmost urgency!" Tony said with a crisp salute.

"I have to go...do something somewhere else" Sam said quickly exiting the room.

"That wasn't sly at all, Wilson!" Shepard called after him "I hear you jumped out of a helicopter to save me"

"It wasn't that big of a deal, we were just above the water"

"That's not how Sam tells it"

"He exaggerates, besides, Barnes is the one who saved you not me"

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"Trying"

"But I didn't save you. Why thank me?"

"It tells me you care" he said smirking.

"Whatever" she said smiling back with a shake of her head.

* * *

"So, you've experienced this sort of thing before?" Fury asked approaching Shepard and Sam standing in front of Nicholas Fury's grave.

"You get used to it"

"We've been data-mining Hydra's files. Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship. I'm heading to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come"

"Stark told me. I will be helping alongside the other Avengers"

"How about you, Wilson? I could use a man with your abilities"

"I'm more of a soldier than a spy"

"Alright then. Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here" Fury says walking away.

"Thank you for the offer to help find Bucky. I may take you up on it someday. For now he needs some space to figure out who he is. I'll come for him when he's ready"

"Just let me know, Commander. I'll always be here to help" he said shaking his hand then turning to leave.

"You should be honored, that's about as close as he gets to saying thank you" Natasha smirked leaning against a nearby tree.

"Not going with him?"

"No"

"Not staying here?"

"Nah, I blew all my covers, I gotta figure out a new one"

"That might take awhile"

"I'm counting on it. That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev" she hands him a file.

"You gonna join us in hunting Hydra?"

"Maybe...I haven't decided yet"

"I know I could really use my partners help" he said with a smile.

Natasha smiled faintly "Okay" she kissed him on the cheek "Be careful, Shepard. You might not want to pull on that thread" she said walking away. She stopped after a few steps and turned her head "See you at the Tower, partner" she said with a wink.

* * *

 **Hope you all liked it! Next chapter should be coming out soon**


	12. Hydra's heads

**Thank you guys for all the support I have been getting! Here's chapter twelve!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter twelve: Hydra's heads**

Khartoum, Sudan

Natasha watched as two pilots entered the plane she was hiding aboard.

"This had better not turn out to be another waste of my time"

"Dr. Jensen's report says she's made a breakthrough in the Chitauri tech. I wouldn't have invited you otherwise"

"Hail Hydra"

"Hail Hydra"

They sat down in their seats as Natasha approached the cockpit "Personnel is on board and we're ready for wheels up in five. Should make it to Port Sudan within the hour"

Natasha closed the door behind her locking it "Ahem"

"What the-" one said as she punched him hard in the face knocking him out.

"You'll never be able to-" Natasha shocked him with her Widow's bite. Pushing them out of the chair and sitting down "Save it. Now, where were we going again? Oh, right..."

* * *

Ex-SHIELD Archery Range

"Okay, I'm not used to doing this with you buzzing in my ear, so go easy on me will ya, Jarvis?" Clint asked aiming his bow.

"Absolutely Agent Barton"

Barton fired three arrows into the bull's-eye "1.9 seconds. An admirable beginning for the session"

"Hmm. Could really do without the commentary"

 _I'm going to have to do better than that if I don't want someone else grabbing my seat on the Avengers. Stark's got his armor, Thor's a god, Hulk's...Hulk. If I don't got this. Then what have I got?_

Barton fired two more arrows hitting two different targets bulls-eye "Not to interrupt your progress, but I've received an Avengers priority mission update from Agent Romanoff. Routing details to your mobile device now"

 _Well...here goes everything_

Stark Industries

"That's what I told you, Pepper-"

"So your telling me?"

"I'm agreeing with you. Hill, back me up here"

"Don't you dare, Maria!"

"Actually. Jarvis just got a tracking hit from Widow" Hill said stoically

"To be continued then" Tony said with a grin.

University of London Observatory

"See? The convergence data is really helping the theories come together" Jane said pointing at the stars.

"It's so refreshing to see it through your eyes" Thor answered.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Forster but we are in urgent need of Thor's assistance" Jarvis announced.

"Well, duty calls" She said looking at Thor.

Avengers Tower

"It's so nice to just sit here with my work every once in a while-" Bruce mused looking at his equipment.

"Dr. Banner, an Avengers priority mission has just been received from Agent Romanoff" Jarvis informed.

"Of course" Bruce sighed in annoyance.

Brooklyn, New York

"Commander Shepard, Agent Romanoff has updated her mission status and I have taken the liberty of assembling the Avengers" Jarvis announced.

"Thank you, Jarvis" Shepard said back closing the file of the Winter Soldier.

* * *

Port Sudan

Natasha exited the plane taking a look around "Let's see what Hydra's been cooking up over here" Using her binoculars she saw a small army of Hydra soldiers with a few tanks. They were all wearing some advanced armor and had weapons reminiscent of the Chitauri.

"Uh-oh. I hope my own cavalry gets here...and soon"

Barton flew the quinjet to the location they got from Natasha "Prep for landing everyone. Looks like we're coming up on Natasha's coordinates"

"What's the plan, Commander?" Stark asked.

"We find Natasha and figure out what's going on here while taking down anyone who gets in our way"

"Sounds like an easy plan" Thor agreed.

"Detonation in proximity" blared the computer "Hang on!" Barton yelled as explosions tossed them around the jet.

"I'm reading multiple hostiles in the area with artillery reminiscent of the Chitauri-"

"One problem at a time, Jarvis! Help me land this thing!" Barton yelled.

Landing roughly they all jumped out of the jet excluding Banner.

"That's it. Next time I drive" Tony said shaking his head.

"Here they come" Shepard said drawing his rifle.

"I shall have short words with these fools" Thor growled throwing his hammer.

"It's the Avengers! Attack!" Dr. Jensen yelled.

"Hail Hydra!" the troops chanted.

"Let's take them down fast" Shepard said shooting many of them as he jumped into a trench for cover.

Hydra agents moved around towards the jet "This is what I get for waiting in the car" Bruce groaned.

"Another one's in the aircraft! Fire!" Jensen yelled.

Firing artillery blasts at the jet it exploded leaving it smoldering "Which Avenger did they say was in there again?" one agent asked curiously.

The Hulk tore from the jet remains growling at the Hydra agents "Oh shit" one said trying to run as Hulk tore through them.

"That's it do you see?! We've got them on the run!" Jensen yelled as the agents continued firing at them.

Hulk picked up a tank and used it to destroy a second while Thor smashed his hammer through the third.

"Not quite Doctor Jensen" Shepard said as Stark landed in the middle of the small army quickly decimating them with his arsenal of weapons.

"Quickly Doctor! You must get out of here!" One agent yelled pushing her away from the fighting.

Jensen grabbed him by the collar "You coward! They attack us with bows and arrows while we wield the weapons of the gods!" Jensen yelled in his face.

"Retreat!" yelled another agent as they turned and ran "No! Come back!" Jensen yelled furiously. The Hulk landed in front of the agents retreating, he started charging them as they screamed in terror.

Natasha came out from behind two agents shocking one with her Widow's bite and kneeing the other in the back of the head "Thank you for choosing Air Widow. We hope you've enjoyed your flight"

Jensen took an advanced weapon from one of the downed agents strapping it on her back "No, I did not come all this way to have you all give up at the first sign of trouble. If only I am worthy of this great power, then so be it!"

Shepard punched a guard sneaking up behind him as he pulled out his staff, using it's shield he blocked Natasha and himself from Jensen's energy weapon hitting Tony and Thor with the second cannon.

"You see you fools are no match for Hydra!" Jensen yelled laughing.

 _Okay Clint. Here's where you get to prove why all that training matters. Only got one shot at this_

Clint fired an arrow as he jumped over an energy beam fired at him, the arrow hit the fuel pack causing the weapon to explode sending Jenson onto her stomach.

"Impossible...I had greater power than all of you" Jensen said in disbelief.

"I may worry that I don't have what it takes sometimes. But I've got the most important thing when it comes down to shutting down you Hydra wackos"

"What? What do you have? Tell me!"

"I've got friends" Barton answered.

"Well said" Shepard patted him on the back

"Friends? You cannot honestly expect me to believe that's why you won, can you?"

"I don't care either way. You are going to prison, where you have a long time to think about your mistakes" Shepard said forcing her arms behind her back.

"So...How are we getting home?" Barton asked looking at the destroyed jet.

"Natasha, you flew a plane here right?"

"Yup, right over there" she pointed "C'mon, let's get her locked up so I can go take a shower. All this sand is sticking to my hair"

* * *

Shepard exited the shower in his apartment in his apartment walking out to his living room to hear his phone had a notification from Sam 'Have a lead, Chicago. 6pm' he smiled hopefully _Bucky, don't go too far_

Turning around he saw Natasha sitting on his couch "Hey" she waved lightly.

"Do you have something against knocking?"

"You told me your door is always open to me"

"It is, I just would like some warning like a message or knocking"

"You were in the shower"

"I know, just tell me your here next time is all I'm saying"

"Your roof, your rules"

"Thank you" he smiled placing his phone in his pocket.

"What'd the message say?"

Shepard just gave her a knowing look.

"Okay. Yes, I did read it"

"Would you like to help?"

"Sure. I have nothing better to do"

"We better get going then, if we want to make it by six"

* * *

Arriving at the warehouse Sam told them to meet him at Sam got into the back of the car "You're early"

"You said you have a lead" Natasha said looking back at him.

"Didn't know you were coming. Yes, I have a lead here, facial recognition matched him entering this building for the last three days and leaving at 8PM every night. Last night he didn't leave"

"Guess we are going inside then" Shepard said opening the door.

"You heard the man" Natasha said following.

"Third wheel me why don't you" Sam joked following her inside.

Entering the building they met eight armed men waiting for them.

"Stop right there" one said placing his pistol back into its holster.

"You were expecting us?" Natasha asked confused.

"Of course we were, if we found Barnes we knew you would've"

"Hydra" Shepard said coldly.

"That's right. You and your team have been systematically taking our operations apart. We needed someone who could go up against you and win. So we decided the Winter Soldier was the right choice"

"We're not going to let that happen" Sam spoke up.

"My men have shots lined up on all of you, you make a move and they will take you down. I suggest you turn around and head back the way you came"

Shepard observed a large crate being held by a magnetic crane, looking towards Natasha who gave a nod to him.

"If you don't leave right now I-" Shepard grabbed him and threw him in front of Natasha who used him as cover while he blocked Sam from the bullets with his back while Natasha shot the crane dropping it onto the men, she snapped his neck and shot another as she grabbed cover. Shepard turned shooting the remaining men with his pistol

"Clear" Natasha said holstering her gun.

"Thanks for the cover" Sam said following Shepard as he led them upstairs. Entering the room they found Bucky choking the man in front of him with the rest dead on the ground.

"Bucky!" Shepard called grabbing his attention he dropped the man snapping his neck and ran crashing through the window. Shepard followed behind him with Sam and Natasha close behind him. Bucky ran into a construction site jumping from one metal beam to another. Crashing through a wooden panel he grabbed a blank using it like a pole-vault he landed on the next building over, Shepard jumped across using his thrusters to get him there tackling Bucky as he landed.

'Bucky stop and listen to me!"

"Get away!" he yelled hitting him off of him and running away he smashed through the glass on the roof leading inside the building Sam landed carrying Natasha with him. Shepard led them into the building following the hallway he ended up at a party full of guests. Looking around he found no trace of him.

"Damn it" Natasha said looking around the room.

* * *

"I lost him again" Shepard groaned getting in the car.

"We will get him next time" Natasha assured with her hand on his. Noticing what she was doing she quickly pulled it away.

"Thank you, Natasha, and you too Sam" Shepard said seeming to have not noticed.

"Anytime man" Sam replied smiling mischievously at what he just saw.

"Need me to drop you home?" he asked Sam.

"No, I'm good. I'll catch you later" he answered flying away.

Shepard chuckled pulling out of the space "Where am I taking you?"

"Where are you heading?"

"I am staying at the tower tonight. You can crash at my place if you'd like"

"No, I think I'll just head to the tower too, makes it easier"

"Alright" Shepard answered putting his foot on the gas weaving in between all the cars in front of him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't much of a help"

"You were fine, he got away. That's the end of it, can't change the past right? You can only move forward" he said with a smile.

"You got over that pretty quickly"

"He got away, Natasha. He didn't die, I still have a chance to help him"

"I suppose you are right. Anyone special yet?"

"No, I haven't found anyone else I want to date since the last time you ask. If I do I'll be sure to let you know" he said with a laugh.

"Just checking"

 _Why do I care so much?_ Natasha shook her head clearing her mind _I just want him to be happy that's all. Right?_ She wasn't sure anymore what she wanted.

* * *

 **That's all for this chapter, This may be the last chapter for a few days. I am going away for Father's day and may not have time to write. If nothing else I will have a new chapter out by Monday night.**


	13. Ultron

**Another movie chapter, I mean obviously its in the title. Hope you like it because it took me awhile**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter thirteen: Ultron**

"Shit!" Tony yells bouncing off an energy barrier around Strucker's main building.

"Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?" Shepard asked twisting a Hydra agents wrist downward he pulled him forward close-lining him then punching him hard in the face knocking him out. Shepard's armor had an Avengers A on the shoulder pads.

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've encountered" Jarvis responded.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this offensive without it. At long last" Thor mused throwing his hammer through a tank.

Natasha snapped the neck of two agents the shot behind her head killing another on a turret unaware of her presence "At long last is lasting a little long, boys"

"Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise" Barton said blowing up a bunker with an explosive arrow.

"I wonder what gave you that idea" Stark sarcastically replied.

Barton fired an explosive arrow into a bunker and waited for the explosion. Hearing nothing he left cover to fire another one, being knocked over he looked around confused "You didn't see that coming?" an unknown man said with a smirk before vanishing in a blur. Barton aimed his bow in the direction he went seeing nothing, a stray blast hit Barton in his side knocking him down with a cry of pain.

"Clint!" Natasha yelled running in his direction. Turning around Shepard was knocked off his feet. Catching himself with his hands and quickly looking around for who hit him he found nothing "We have an enhanced in the field"

"Clint's hit!" Natasha yelled applying pressure to the wound.

"I'm on my way" Shepard yelled bolting in their direction.

"Somebody want to deal with that bunker?" she asked ducking to avoid another blast. Hulk roared loudly as he crashed through the bunker "Thank you"

Shepard arrived handing Natasha his rifle "Cover me" he ordered picking up Clint and rushing behind a covered area. Natasha shot three agents moving with Shepard into cover. She handed him back his rifle. "Stark, we really need to get inside"

"I'm closing in" Tony replied back. Shepard grabbed a Hydra agent from above the trench they were hiding Barton in pulling him in he slammed his knee down on his arm pulling his arm towards him snapping it in the process. He screamed in agony "I think you can handle this" he said climbing out of the trench.

"Thanks" Barton said stabbing the agent with an knife.

"Drawbridge is down people" Tony reported as the energy field came down.

Shepard blocked a punch from a Hydra agent kicking him in the face three times he turned around so his arm was over his right shoulder and did a frontward flip landing with his left foot on the agents chest smashing several ribs.

"The enhanced?" Thor asked as his hammer hit the man behind him.

"He's a blur. All the new player's we've faced, I've never seen this. in fact, I still haven't"

"Clint's hit pretty bad guys. We're gonna need evac" Natasha said shooting two more agents.

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone the better. You and Stark secure the scepter" Thor offered.

"You got it"

"It looks like they're lining up" Thor said referring to the Hydra agents and tank approaching them.

"What can I say, they're excited to meet us" Shepard countered taking his staffs shield out, Thor pounds on the shield sending a shockwave towards the agents knocking them all down and flipping the tank.

"Find the scepter" Thor says flying off.

Stark entered the building clearing the room of all Hydra's agents as he crashed through the window.

"We're locked down out here" Natasha said observing her work.

"Then get to the jet and pull it around. I'll handle Banner" Shepard ordered entering the building.

Strucker entered the room Shepard was in trying to escape "Baron Strucker. Hydra's number one thug"

"Technically, I'm a thug for SHIELD"

"Then technically you're unemployed. Where's Loki's scepter?" Shepard demanded.

"Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope"

"I'll put it right under illegal human experimentation" he replies darkly "How many are there?" A woman sneaks up behind him using her telekinetic powers she throws him down the stairs and closed the doors behind her as she left.

Shepard stands back up walking up the stairs "We have a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage" he warned.

"You'll have to be faster than-"

Shepard kicked him in the face without turning to look at him "I have Strucker"

"I got the scepter" Tony notified.

"Natasha bring the jet around and pick up Tony, I'm going to get Banner he ordered slinging Strucker over his shoulder.

"On it"

Shepard walked outside to find Hulk throwing pieces of a tank in different directions "Hey big guy" Shepard drops Strucker in the snow.

Hulk turned to him flaring his nostrils as he slowly showed signs of recognition "You did a good amount of smashing, what do you say we call it a day" Shepard held out his hand to him in a fist. Slowly Hulk approached and placed his fist against his with a small smile he collapsed by to the floor as he changed back into Bruce.

"I got Banner" Shepard reported picking up Strucker.

* * *

"Hey, you were great out there today" Natasha reassured Bruce as he looked unsure of himself aboard the jet.

"Just wasn't expecting a Code Green"

"if you hadn't been there, there would've been twice the casualties, and my best friend would've been a treasured memory"

"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear"

"How long before you trust us?"

"It's not you I don't trust"

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims" he proudly answered.

Bruce groaned, as Natasha looks at Thor in disbelief. Shepard smacks him on the back of the head "Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh...and gout" Thor struggled to recover.

"Smooth" Shepard said shaking his head.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around"

"Thanks. Tell her to prep everything, Barton's gonna need the full treatment"

"Very good, sir" Jarvis replied.

"Jarvis take the wheel"

"Yes, sir. Approach vector is locked"

"It feels good, yeah? I mean you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."

"No, but this...this brings it to a close" Thor answered Tony.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" Shepard asked.

"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?"

Thor nods his head.

"I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels"

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels. Commander?"

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra, so. Yes, revels"

* * *

Landing at the Avengers Tower Barton was wheeled out on a gurney with Natasha following close behind, Banner left quickly heading to his lab with Thor behind him with the scepter in hand. Hill entered the jet "Lab's all set up boss" she said approaching Stark.

"Uh, actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler" Tony said pointing at Shepard.

"What's the word on Strucker?" Shepard asked standing up.

"NATO's got him"

"The two enhanced?"

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special" she explained following him as he walked off the jet.

"They're abilities?"

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation"

"So he's fast and she's weird" he said with a smirk opening the elevator "They're going to show up again"

"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts"

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country" Shepard said sarcastically stepping into the elevator.

"We're not a war, Commander"

"They are" the elevator doors closed.

Stepping out of the elevator he passed Tony and Banner "How's he doing?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, unfortunately, he's still Barton"

"That's terrible"

"He's fine, he's thirsty"

Shepard rolled his eyes with a small chuckle.

"You sure he's going to be okay?" Natasha asked Dr. Cho "Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together" she said smirking at Clint.

"There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum"

"She's creating tissue" Banner said excitedly.

"If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes"

"Oh he's flat-lining. Call it. Time?" Stark joked entering the room with a drink in hand.

"No, no, no. I'm going to live forever. I'm gonna be made of plastic" Baron countered.

Shepard's smile disappeared at that sentence. Natasha noticed his sudden change, she watched him carefully.

"Here's your beverage" Tony said handing him the drink.

"You'll be made of you. Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference"

"I don't have a girlfriend"

"That I can't fix"

Shepard walked out without a word "What's up with him?" Tony asked as he left.

"I think that 'live forever' joke struck a nerve for him" Natasha guessed.

"Shit, I never thought about that. Sorry Nat"

"He's probably fine, just give him a few minutes and he'll be his old self again" Tony said exiting the room.

* * *

"Well, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like, "Boom! You looking for this?" Tony and Thor just look at Rhodes blankly "Boom! Are you looking-Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills"

"That's the whole story?" "Yeah, it's a War Machine story" he says deflated. "Well, it's very good then" he laughs "It's impressive" "Quality save. So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" "No" "Hey, what about Jane? Where are the ladies, gentlemen?" Hill asked. "Well, Miss Potts has a company to run" "Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in. Her work on the convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer" "And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on earth. It's pretty exciting" "There's even talk of Jane getting a... um, uh... Nobel prize" "Yeah, they...they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together" Maria mock coughs "Testosterone! Oh, excuse me" "Want a lozenge?" Rhodes offers "Um-hmm" "Let's go" Maria and Rhodes walks off. "But Jane's better" Thor says grinning.

"Sounds like a hell of a fight, sorry I missed it" Sam said walking with Shepard.

"If I had known it was going to be a firefight I absolutely would've called you"

"No, I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world. Your world is crazy"

"The world does seem to only become weirder the older I get" Shepard laughed "Excuse me" he walks away noticing Natasha by herself at the bar.

"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?"

"Fella done me wrong" she answered with a smile.

"You got a lousy taste in men, kid"

"He's not so bad. He's all tough on the outside, deep down he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anyone I've ever known"

"How so?"

"All my friends are fighters. And here comes this guy, spends his time avoiding fights because he knows he'll win"

"Sounds amazing"

"He's also a bit of a dork"

Shepard smirked shaking his head.

"Chicks dig that. So what do you think? Should I fight this, or run with it?"

"What did he do that was so wrong to you?"

"Not a damn thing. But never say never" Natasha said passing him a drink as she left with her own.

Shepard watched her leave with a sad smile on his face.

"It's nice" Tony says sitting down next to him.

"What is?"

"You and Nat"

"What? No, that wasn't-"

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you or anything. It's just, she's not the most open person in the world. She always hides herself from everybody, but with you she seems relaxed"

"Natasha just likes to flirt" Shepard deflected waving dismissively.

"I've seen her flirt, up close, this ain't that. Look, take my advice. Don't wait, tell her how you feel. You both deserve some happiness" he says walking away.

"What do you mean 'up close'?" Shepard asked curiously. Tony just waved his hand back at him.

* * *

"It's a trick!" Clint yelled referring to Thor's hammer.

"Oh, no. It's much more than that"

"Uh, 'whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!' Whatever man! It's a trick" he insisted mockingly.

"Well please, be my guest" Thor offered placing his hammer on the table.

"Come on" Tony edged him on.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Thor answered.

"This is gonna be beautiful" Rhodes laughed.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up" Tony taunted causing the others to laugh.

"You know I've seen this before right?" Clint grabs the hammer and can't lift it "I still don't know how you do it" he laughed letting go.

"Smell the silent judgement" Tony snickered.

"Please, Stark, by all means" Clint gestures to the hammer.

Tony stands up "Oh, here we go" Natasha laughed out.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge"

"Get after it" Clint said sitting back down.

"Here we go" Natasha repeated laughing.

"it's physics"

"Physics? Right" Shepard taunted.

"Right, so if I lift it, I rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course"

"I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta" Tony pulls up on the hammer failing to move it "I'll be right back"

Tony uses his armored hand to try and lift it failing once more. Tony and Rhodes both wearing armored hands pulled up on the hammer.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodes asked.

"Are you on my team?" Tony countered.

"Just represent! Pull!"

"Alright, lets go!"

They fail to move it an inch.

Banner went next followed by Hill and Sam who all failed to move it.

"Widow?" Tony asked.

"Oh, no. That's not a question I need answered"

"Shepard?"

"I just watched you guys fail to lift it even an inch for the past ten minutes. What makes you think I want to join you?"

"I'll pay you" Tony joked.

"I live here smartass"

"Come on, Commander" Rhodes said trying to pressure him.

Everyone began chanting "Shepard" over and over until he relented "Fine, whatever"

Shepard walked over to the hammer and pulled hard on it, he fell to the floor in surprise when the hammer came right up. Everyone just stared in shock.

"It's rigged" Tony said in denial.

Thor helped him up off the ground "I would follow you into battle without hesitation" he said pounding his hand to his chest in a sign of respect.

"Does that mean he rules Asgard now?" Barton asked with a smirk.

"No thank you. You can keep it" he said handing him the hammer.

"The rest of you are clearly not worthy!" Thor laughed.

"Worthy" said a mechanical voice from behind them, turning they saw one of Tony's Iron Legionnaires.

"No...How could you be worthy? You're all killers"

"Stark?" Shepard asked warily.

"Jarvis"

"I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or...I was a dream"

Tony tapped his device "Reboot, legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit"

"That doesn't look like a buggy suit, Tony" Shepard warned.

"There was this terrible noise...and I was tangled in...in...strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy"

"You killed somebody?"

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices"

"Who sent you?" Thor asked.

"I see a suit of armor around the world" Tony's voice answered through the suit.

"Ultron!" Bruce said incredulously.

"In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission"

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

"Peace in out time" Iron Legionnaires smashed through the walls and attacked the team. Shepard grabbed Banner and Natasha jumping over the bar "Don't turn green" Natasha ordered.

"I wont!"

Natasha and Shepard pulled guns from under the bar and began shooting.

Tony jumps on the back of one and tries to shut it down. Shepard grabs one as it aims at Bruce and smashes it against the wall.

"Shepard!" Barton yelled throwing his sword to him. Shepard jumps grabbing it in the air and throws it into the last one embedding it in the wall.

"That was dramatic! I'm sorry I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?" Ultron picks up one of the legionnaires heads "With these? These puppets?" he asked smashing it's head in his hand "There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction"

Thor throws his hammer at him shattering the body.

"I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me" Ultron sung before the head deactivated.

* * *

"All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch" Bruce said looking at the computer.

"Ultron?" Shepard asked entering the room.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we do about each other" Natasha informed annoyed.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodes asked.

"Nuclear codes" Hill realized aloud.

"Nuclear codes. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can"

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead" Natasha said disagreeing.

"He didn't say dead. he said extinct" Shepard said coldly.

"He also said he killed someone" Barton pointed out.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building" Hill countered.

"Yes there was" Tony said solemnly showing a destroyed 3D model of Jarvis's consciousness.

"This is insane" Bruce said in disbelief.

"Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense" Shepard concluded.

"No, Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage"

"Can Ultron even feel rage?" Shepard asked confused.

Thor enters the room grabbing Tony by the throat holding him off the ground.

"Woah, woah, woah! It's going around" Barton said referring to Thor.

"Come on. Use your words, buddy" Tony choked out.

"I have more than enough to describe you, Stark"

"Thor! The legionnaire" Shepard ordered grabbing his attention.

Thor lets go of Stark "Trail went cold about a hundred miles out but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again"

"The genie's out of the bottle. Clear and present is Ultron" Natasha pointed out.

"I don't understand. You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?" Cho asked.

Tony starts laughing, Banner subtly shakes his head at him to get him to stop.

"You think this is funny?" Thor asked venomously.

"No. It's probably not, right? Is this very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible"

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand"

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this"

"Tony, maybe this might not be the best time to-" Bruce advised.

"Really?! That's it? You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls"

"Only when I've created a murder bot"

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?"

"You're telling me that Ultron just created himself then? The Avengers was supposed to be different than SHIELD" Shepard lectured.

"Anybody remember a worm hole over New York? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing three hundred feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together" Shepard answered without missing a beat.

"We'll lose"

"We don't know until we try. I used to do everything on my own, didn't think I needed anyone's help. I realized recently how wrong I was, accepting help from other people takes more strength than doing it alone. Not everything can be done by one person. Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller"

* * *

"He's all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs, reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place" Hill briefed Shepard.

"Fatalities?"

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories and worst fears, and something to fats to see"

"Maximoffs. Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have something in common"

"Not anymore" Hill shows a picture of Strucker's dead body with the word 'PEACE' written in blood on the wall.

Shepard passes Barton in the hall "That's a negative. I answer to you. Yes, ma'am" he said into his phone.

"Barton, we might have something"

"Gotta go" he hung up and followed.

"Girlfriend?"

"Something like that"

Gathering the rest of the team he shows them the picture of Strucker.

"What's this?" Tony asked.

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker"

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha asked.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss"

"Yeah, I bet he-" She heard a beep from the computer monitor "Yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased"

"Not everything" Shepard smirks grabbing the physical files "Known associates, well, Strucker had a lot of friends" he added giving the list to Banner.

"Well these people are all horrible"

"Wait! I know that guy" Tony said grabbing the picture "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms"

Shepard looks at Tony skeptically.

"There are conventions, alright? You meet people, I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new a game changer, it was all very 'Ahab'"

"This" Thor says pointing to a scar on his neck.

"Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it-"

"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand"

"I recognize that, it means thief in a much less friendly way" Shepard said looking at the picture.

"What language?" Banner asked.

"African, a dialect I don't know well"

"What dialect?" Tony asked Banner.

"Wakanada? Wa-wa...Wakanda"

Shepard and Tony looked at each other nervously.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods-"

"I thought Howard got the last of it?"

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce asked confused.

"Vibranium, the strongest metal on earth" Tony answered.

"Is that what you sword is made of?" Natasha asked.

"Adamantium" Shepard corrected "The only thing more rare and stronger than Vibranium. Where is this guy now?"

* * *

African Coast, Salvage Yard

"You know it came at great personal cost. It's worth billions" Ulysses Klaue informed Ultron.

Ultron chuckled remotely transferring money into his account "Now, so are you. It's all under your dummy holdings? Finance is so weird. But I always say, Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich, and wait to find out which is which"

"Stark"

"What?"

"Tony Stark used to say that...to me. You're one of his"

"What?! I'm not!" Ultron grabs him "I'm not. You think I'm one of Stark's puppets, his hollow men? I mean look at me, do I look like Iron Man? Stark is Nothing!" Ultron yelled cutting off his arm "I'm sorry. I am sor-ooh, I'm sure that's going to be okay. I'm sorry, it's just I don't understand. Don't compare me to Stark!" he yelled kicking him down the stairs "It's a thing with me. Stark is...he's a sickness!"

"Ahh, Junior" Stark said appearing behind him "You're gonna break your old man's heart"

"If I have to"

Shepard and Thor showed up behind Tony "We don't have to break anything" Thor announced.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet"

"He beat me by one second" Tony groaned.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro asked.

"This was never my life"

"You two can still walk away from this" Shepard offered.

"Oh, we will" Wanda replied.

"I know you've suffered-"

"Uuughh! Commander Shepard. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Ultron ranted.

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it" Thor demanded.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet"

"Yuh-huh. What's the Vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan!"

Suddenly the Iron Legions attack while Stark attacks Ultron. The twins join the battle as well.

"Shoot them!" Klaue yelled.

"Which ones?" the mercenary asked.

"All of them!"

Barton and Natasha entered the fight. Shepard stuck his arm out close-lining Pietro a second later "Stay down kid" he warned pointing his weapon at him.

"Guys, is this a code green?" Banner asked over the earpiece "Stay where you are Banner" Shepard ordered.

"It's time for some mind games" Ultron whispered to Wanda. She uses her power on Thor while Shepard approached "Thor! Status?"

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately I am might" he said seconds before seeing himself at a party on Asgard.

Wanda used her power on Shepard and Natasha "This is going very well" Ultron mused.

Shepard looked around confused as he was in a tavern from hundreds of years ago "Great so now I am stuck in a mind trick" A woman grabbed his arm turning him around he saw "Mother?" he asked confused. The woman smiled at him sweetly, then she started bleeding out of her eyes as everyone else in the room collapsed in the same manner as she did. Shepard ran through the doors to see the same room he was just in without windows or doors and the floor was made out of dead bodies. Looking down he was up to his knees in the bodies and his hands were covered in blood. The bodies began grabbing him and pulling him down under them.

Back in reality Barton stuck an electric arrow to her forehead from behind him as she attempted to affect him "I've done the whole mind control thing. Not a fan" Pietro knocked him down grabbed Wanda and disappeared "Yeah, you better run"

Shepard pulls his helmet off and walks off being stopped by Barton "Commander snap out of it!" he yelled smacking him he showed no response to the strike.

"The Vibranium is getting away" Ultron said to Tony as he cornered him "And you're not going anywhere" he countered.

"Of course not, I'm already there. You'll catch on. But first, you might need to catch Dr. Banner"

Tony angrily shoots Ultron and flies off to find Banner "News or footage, keyword: Hulk" video footage of Hulk destroying the city comes up on his screen "Commander, I could really use you right now"

Barton sat with Natasha who's still stuck in her vision "That's not gonna happen. Not for awhile. The whole team is down, you got no back up here"

"I'm calling in VERONICA"

* * *

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air" Hill informed.

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asked.

"Already on the scene. How's the team?"

"Everyone's...we took a hit. We'll shake it off"

"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here"

"So, run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer"

"Neither do we" he said ending the call "Hey, you wanna switch out?" he asked Barton.

"No, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, cause we're still a few hours out"

"A few hours from where?"

"A safe house"

* * *

The quinjet lands outside a farmhouse, they all exit "What is this place?" Thor asked.

"A safe house?" Tony answered.

"Let's hope" Barton says opening the door "Honey, I'm home" he called into the house, Barton's pregnant wife walks in from the kitchen looking surprised "Hi, company. Sorry I didn't call ahead"

"Hey" Laura said back kissing him.

"This is an agent of some kind" Tony said to Thor.

"Gentlemen, this is Laura" Barton introduced.

"I know all your names" she replied to them as they all stared at her awkwardly.

"Ooh, incoming" Barton said watching his son and daughter run down the stairs.

"Dad!"

"Hey guys! How you guys doing?"

"These are smaller agents" Tony said to the others.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the little girl asked.

"Why don't you hug her and find out yourself?" Natasha said smiling. Lila rushed to her being picked up in her arms.

"Sorry for barging in on you" Shepard apologized to Laura trying to be polite.

"Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea you existed" Tony chimed in.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low"

"Honey, I missed you"

"How's little Natasha doing?" Natasha asked touching Laura's stomach.

"She's...Nathaniel"

"Traitor"

Thor walked out of the house still bothered by the vision he had.

"Thor" Shepard called following him.

"I saw something in that dream. I need answers, I won't find them here"

"Do what you need to do, just be back soon" Shepard ordered.

Thor nodded then flew off. Shepard turned back to the house seeing his mother standing there in the doorway smiling he blinked in surprise and she was gone. Shaking his head he walked back inside.

* * *

Laura was checking over Barton's wound that he got from Pietro.

"See, you worried for nothing. Can't even feel the difference can you?"

"If they're sleeping here, some of them are gonna have to double up"

"Yeah, that's not gonna sell"

"What about Nat and Commander Shepard? How long has that been going on?"

"Has what?"

"You are so cute"

"Nat and...Shepard?"

"I'll explain when you're older, Hawkeye"

"Oh, okay"

"It's bad, right? Nat seems really shaken"

"Ultron has these allies, these kids. They're punks really, they carry a big damn stick and Nat took a serious hit. Someone's gonna have to teach 'em some manners"

"And that someone should be you. You know I support your Avenging, I couldn't be prouder. But I see those guys, those 'Gods'..."

"You don't think they need me"

"I think they do. Which is a lot scarier. They're a mess"

"Yeah. I guess they're my mess"

"You need to be sure that this team is really a team and that they have your back. Things are changing for us. In a few months time, you and me are gonna be outnumbered. I need...just be sure"

"Yes ma'am" he kisses her as she touches his side "I can feel the difference" she said smirking.

* * *

Shepard washes his hands in the sink, looking at his hands he notices the blood he saw in the vision is still there. Silently staring at his hands he begins scrubbing harder trying to wash it off.

"Everything okay?" Natasha asked sitting on the bed.

"I didn't realize you were waiting"

"I would've joined you. Just didn't think it was the right time"

"They used all the hot water"

"I should've joined you"

Natasha looked defeated.

"Are you alright?"

Natasha hesitated for a moment afraid of how he might react "I..." she slumped into his shoulder as he put his arms around her. He didn't press any further not wanting to force her before she was ready.

"I saw my mother" he said causing Natasha to look at him "You never talked about your family before"

"I don't remember my family, I remember their faces and voices but nothing else"

Natasha sat silently deciding if she should tell him or not.

"I was at an inn. A tavern, back in 1095. Wasn't much of anything special. Just the furthest memory I have. She was standing there smiling at me" Shepard choked on a sob stopping himself he paused "...She started bleeding, everyone in the room did and they all fell down dying. I ran out the door to find myself in the same room with no windows or doors and the floor was made of corpses. My hands were soaked in blood and they began pulling me down under them. Next thing I knew I was sitting in a grey room with nothing but walls...alone"

A brief silence overtook the two of them. Shepard began to feel a wetness on his shoulder turning to see Natasha crying "I can't give you a home"

"What?"

"There are so many times when I woke up to nightmares of you abandoning me because you knew who I really was. I shrugged it off like I didn't care. I just can't pretend anymore. The closer I get to you the more I care, the more I care the harder it becomes. I...I am a monster and you are a hero. I couldn't taint you with my wretchedness"

"Natasha" Shepard took her face in his hands "You are not a monster. What did you see that made you think that?"

"That I wasn't an Avenger, that I wasn't anything more than the assassin they made me to be. The monster" she pulled away from him.

"I know you are more than that. You are being too hard on yourself"

"You have no future with me" she insisted standing from the bed and walking to the window watching Clint play with his kids "Look! I can't have that, I can't give you what you want. What you deserve to have"

Shepard stood up not saying a word, he had never seen her so vulnerable before.

"In the Red Room, where I was...trained. Where I was raised, um..." She choked on her words struggling to catching her breath "They have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient" she wiped a stray tear from her face "One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier, even killing"she smiled sadly at him "It's okay if you want to leave me, run away from me because I am not what you expected, I can never be what you want"

Shepard walked in front of her without a word "You are not what you think, Natasha" he wrapped his arms around her small form "I may have wanted a family, stability. Not of that means anything without you"

Natasha looked at him speechless trying desperately to find any sign he was lying to comfort her, all she found was sincerity " I saw how you looked at Clint's family, you can't ever have that with me"

"That's okay. If we ever decide we want kids we can just adopt. There are plenty of kids out there who need a loving family. Or we could go with something simpler like a puppy. We would still be a family. Home is where your heart is. Natasha, you'll always have my heart"

"But-"

"If I really wanted kids that badly I would've married a long time ago. I raised my fair share of kids like Bucky and Tony. I have lived a full life. All I want right now, is you, Natasha"

"John" Natasha couldn't hold back anymore she held him tightly as they stood there unmoving. Nothing else mattered to them in that moment, they were content in each others arms.

"I don't care about your past. I love you for who you are, your past made you into who you are today. The woman who stole my heart"

Natasha silently thanked every god she could think of for giving her Johnathan Shepard her savior, for giving her another chance.

"Believe me, Natasha. You are not a monster. I saw when you were with Barton's daughter. You were so relaxed, I thought you would make a perfect mother. I will do my best to give you a family if that's what you want. All I want is to be with you" He pressed his lips to hers wiping a stray tear from her face.

Natasha imagined the life they could have together, waking up in his arms every morning, fighting alongside him everyday and just sitting with him watching movies or going to their favorite restaurant. She saw them living an ordinary life. They both separated for air, Natasha leaned into his chest listening to his heartbeat.

"You should get some rest, I'll just be outside" he told her releasing his arms around her.

"Can you promise me something?"

"What?"

"You'll never leave me"

Shepard smiled warmly "I promise I will never leave you, Natasha Romanoff. I always keep my promises, right?"

Natasha laughed lying down on the bed "Thank you"

* * *

"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asked.

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things. I was kinda hoping Thor was an exception" Shepard answered chopping a piece of wood in half.

"Yeah give him time. We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him"

"Earths Mightiest Heroes. She pulled us apart like cotton candy"

"Seems like you walked away all right"

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned.

"You haven't seen mine yet"

"You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart right?"

"I know"

"Banner and I were doing research" Tony said trying to explain why Ultron was created.

"That would affect the team"

"That would end the team. Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'why' we fight, so we can end the fight, so we can go home?"

"Yeah, well Ultron took the 'end the team' a bit seriously"

"Don't patronize me"

Shepard tore a piece of wood apart in anger "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time"

Laura walked out "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, uh, Clint said you wouldn't mind, but, our tractor doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you might-"

"Yeah, I'll give her a kick" Tony turns to leave "Don't touch my pile"

Tony entered the barn, Shepard followed to apologize for losing his temper "Hello, Deere. Tell me everything. What ails you?" Tony said to the tractor.

"Do me a favor and try not to bring it to life" Fury said from the corner.

Shepard hid behind the door listening "Ah, Mrs. Barton, you little minx. I get it, Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?"

"Artificial Intelligence. You never even hesitated"

"Look, it's been a really long day, like, Eugene O'Neill long, so how's about we skip to the part where you're useful?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down"

"You're not the director of me"

"I'm not the director of anybody. I'm just an old man, who cares very much about you"

"And I'm the man who killed the Avengers. I saw it. I didn't tell the team, how could I? I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it. The whole world, too. It's because of me. I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could"

"The Maximoff girl, she's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear"

"I wasn't tricked, I was shown. It wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on"

"You've come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony. War is not one of them"

"I watched my friends die. You'd think that'd be as bad as it gets, right? Nope. Wasn't the worst part"

"The worst part is that you didn't" Shepard said standing at the door.

"Shepard-"

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand why you were so devoted to needing Ultron. Now I do, but you have to know all you saw was your worst fear. It wasn't real and I can guarantee it won't come true"

"How? How can you guarantee that?"

"Because we have each other. As long as we stick together when we need to, there isn't anything out there that can stop us"

"He's right" Fury said smirking "Shepard always tells the truth after all"

* * *

 **That's chapter thirteen! Hope you all liked it**


	14. Together

**Part two of the Ultron chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter fourteen: Together**

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just for one thing" Fury explained.

"What about Ultron himself?"

"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying like a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though"

"He still going after the launch codes?" Tony asked.

"Yes, he is, but he's not making headway"

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare"

"I remember, you called me to bail your ass out" Shepard said with a smirk.

"I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that?"

"NEXUS?" Barton asked. Fury explained.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on the earth" Bruce explained.

"So what'd they say?"

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed"

"By whom?" Tony asked.

"Parties unknown"

"Do we have an ally?" Natasha asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is"

"I might need to visit Oslo, find our unknown" Tony suggested.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind off hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that" Natasha sighed.

"I do, I have you" he answered gesturing to them "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard"

"I think we may have allies in the Maximoffs" Shepard said making everyone glare at him.

"What the hell do you mean, they used mind control to make us see our worst fears" Natasha said darkly.

"They're just kids who have been wronged, they hate us because the weapon that destroyed their apartment was made by Stark Industries"

"What?" Tony said surprised.

"They aren't bad people they are young kids with too much anger, Ultron won't stop with us. If we failed he would just move on to the next threat to peace. Eventually he would be the only one left. They don't want that, I could see the pain in their eyes. It's a pain that you personally have felt already Tony"

"I hate to admit it, but he is right" Natasha reluctantly agreed.

"Don't you still have connections to pretty much every system in the world?" Barton asked Shepard.

"Yes. That won't help, If I could track him down it'd be because he wants me to, so he can trace back to us"

"So we have nothing?"

"Not exactly, what does he want?"

"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies" Barton answered.

"Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it" Tony added.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed" Natasha groaned out.

"They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve" Banner said in realization.

"What's more evolved than-" Shepard stopped in realization "Son of a bitch" he stood up from the table.

"What?" Natasha asked confused.

"Dr. Helen Cho. She can create flesh can't she? Ultron is trying to synthesis his metal body with biological tissue. He'd have the strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither"

"Damn, he'd be unstoppable" Tony said in understanding.

"Or damn close to it" Shepard answered "I'll take Natasha and Clint"

"Alright, strictly recon. I'll hit the NEXUS, I'll join you as soon as I can"

"If Ultron is really building himself a body-"

"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us. An android designed by a robot"

"You know, I really miss the old days when the weirdest thing on the planet was me"

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. Do you mind if I borrow Hill?" Fury asked.

"She's all yours, apparently. What are you gonna do?" Tony asked in return.

"I don't know. Something dramatic I hope"

"Yeah, and then you'll find another part of the house to tear apart" Laura said walking outside with Clint.

"No. It's the last project. I promise" Clint kissed her before joining the others.

They all took off in the quinjet leaving Laura waving as they went.

* * *

"Dr. Cho!" Shepard called finding her wounded.

"He's uploading himself into the body"

"Where?"

"The real power is inside the cradle. The gem, its power is uncontrollable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the cradle to Stark"

"First I have to find it" Shepard said pulling out a first aid kit and handing it to her.

"Go"

"Did you guys copy that?"

"We did" Barton answered from the quinjet.

"I got a private jet taking off, across town, no manifest. That could be him" Natasha informed.

"There" Barton pointed at a truck "It's the truck from the lab. Right above you, Commander. On the loop by the bridge, it's them. I got three with the cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver"

"Negative! If that truck crashes the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron" Shepard jumps off the bridge landing onto the truck roof. He slides down to the door and begins to open it.

"No, no, no, no, no. Leave me alone! Ultron yelled blasting the truck door as Shepard tries to enter. A second blast knocks the doors off as Shepard jumps up, using his grappling hook he attaches to the back and skates on the street.

"Well, he's definitely unhappy! I'm gonna try and keep him that way"

"You're not a match for him, Commander"

"Thanks, Barton" he says sarcastically slightly deflated.

Shepard gets knocked back by an energy pulse onto the car windshield behind him. As a truck passes him he grabs onto the rearview mirror he swung himself onto the roof. Ultron floated onto the roof from the back of the truck "You know what's in that cradle?" he asked sending a blast at him, Shepard sidestepped avoiding it "The power to affect real change. And that terrifies you"

"I wouldn't call it a comfort" Shepard fires both his pistol's EMP charges throwing Ultron off the roof before he starts hovering with his thrusters. Ultron fired two blasts at him, performing a hand stand on his left hand he avoided one then pushed off the truck avoiding the other as he unsheathed his sword. Shepard sliced Ultron's chest as he landed then stabbed him through the shoulder.

"Stop!" Ultron yelled throwing the sword off the truck embedding itself in the road. Ultron shot Shepard in the chest sending him off the truck, grabbing the roof he swung in front of the windshield. An arm smashed through it as he swung to the right side of the cab.

"You have a window, 5-4-Give 'em hell" Barton said opening a small hatch on the belly of the jet as Natasha dropped on a motorcycle weaving though traffic.

Natasha noticed his sword in the road "I'm always picking up after you boys" she joked grabbing his sword out of the road.

"They are headed under the overpass, I have no shot"

"Which way"

"Hard right...Now"

Shepard grabbed Ultron in a head lock, twisting Shepard's arm he broke out of it. Ultron grabbed him by the throat hanging him over the road.

"You know, normally my position is the other way around"

"I bet you don't like being on the receiving end" Ultron sneered as Natasha slid underneath the truck onto the side he was hanging over. Natasha threw his sword up to him. Catching it by the blade he hit Ultron in the face with the handle. Flipping the blade in the air he caught it with his other hand by the handle as one of the Legionnaires attacks him.

Ultron used his built in tractor beam to pick up the road in front of Natasha making her stop and turn the bike around to follow the truck. The legionnaires fired at her from the back, she turned to drive up a set of stairs "Out of the way! Coming through!" she yelled to the pedestrians.

Shepard sliced him in half to receive a blast to his chest sending him onto another car windshield. Ultron used the tractor beam to flip the cars behind the truck over. Shepard rolled into the road avoiding the first car, jumping to his right he avoided a second. Using his grappling hook he attached it to the overpass launching himself away from the third vehicle and back on the truck.

"Come here!"

Ducking under Ultron's arm he blocked a second attack with his blade and ducking under his arm again.

"Clint, can you draw out the guards?" Natasha asked.

"Let's find out"

"Beep-beep!" Natasha yells at the pedestrians in her way.

Shepard blocked another swing with his sword as the exited the overpass and Clint fired at Ultron, annoying him more than hurting him. The legionnaires in the back went after him attaching to each side of the cockpit. Barton rolled continuously knocking them off.

Shepard kicked Ultron into the overpass pillar as he recovered in the air he speed back towards him. Sidestepping he tackled Ultron into a nearby train car. The Legionnaires turned back away from Barton.

"They're headed back towards you, whatever you're gonna do. Do it now"

Shepard through his sword at Ultron, sidestepping he caught the handle and threw it back. Clapping his hands in front of his face he caught it by the blade. Ultron flew towards him, Shepard flipped over him before being hit by a blast from his hands.

"Shep, I'm going in. Keep him occupied" Natasha said jumping off her bike into the back of the truck.

"What do you think I've been doing?" Shepard asked panting exhausted.

The legionnaires returned picking up the truck "The package is airborne. I have a clean shot"

"Negative I am still in the truck"

"What the hell are you-"

"Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you"

"How do you want me to take it?"

"Uh, you might wish you hadn't asked that"

Pietro and Wanda show up on the train helping Shepard up.

"Please, don't do this" Ultron said annoyed.

"What choice do we have?" Wanda asked.

Ultron flew off "Thanks, I knew you kids weren't all bad. Just don't do that mind shit again" he warned.

"Nat, we gotta go" Barton says as the cradle falls into the quinjet. Natasha gets grabbed by Ultron and pulled away.

"Nat! Shepard, you see Nat?"

"If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!" Shepard ordered reluctantly.

"Do you have eyes on Nat?"

"Go!" he yelled, his tone betraying his emotions. Barton reluctantly leaves towards the Avengers Tower.

"Pietro, get the civilians out of the way of the train. Wanda, I need you to stop the train" he ordered as the train crashed through the barrier.

Wanda forced the train to stop as Pietro moved all the civilians out of the way. Falling on his back panting heavily "I'm fine, I just need a minute" he said to Wanda.

"I'm very tempted not to give you one" Shepard said sternly.

"The cradle, did you get it?" Wanda asked worriedly.

"Stark will take care of it"

"No, he won't"

"You don't know what your talking about. Stark's not crazy"

"He will do anything to make things right"

"Stark, come in. Stark. Anyone on comms?"

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?"

"You don't know Tony like I do. He wouldn't do anything to hurt people"

"Not intentionally, but the vision I gave-"

"I know what you made him see. I know he won't make the same mistake twice"

* * *

"Anything on Natasha?" Banner asked.

"Haven't heard. But she's alive, or Ultron'd be rubbing our faces in it" Tony answered.

"This thing is sealed tight" Barton pointed out.

"We're going to need to access the program, break it down from within" Banner sighed.

"Hmm. Any chance Natasha might leave you a message, outside the internet, old school spy stuff?"

"There's some nets I can cast. Yeah, alright. I'll find her" Barton said leaving the room.

"I can work on tissue degeneration, if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted"

"Yeah, about that"

Banner looks at Stark "No"

"You have to trust me"

"Kinda don't"

"Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes? I found him" he brings up Jarvis's consciousness

"Hello, Dr. Banner"

"Ultron didn't go after Jarvis cause he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So Jarvis went underground. Okay? Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there, until I pieced him together"

"So, you want me to help you put Jarvis into this thing?"

"No, of course not! I want to help you put Jarvis in this thing" Banner shakes his head "We're out of my field here. You know bio-organics better than anyone"

"And you just assume that Jarvis' operational matrix can beat Ultron's?"

"Jarvis has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity, we can create Ultron's perfect self, without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to"

"I believe it's worth a go"

"No, I'm in a loop! I'm caught in a time loop, this is exactly where it all went wrong"

"I know, I know. I know what everyone's going to say, but they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. You gotta own it. Make a stand" Banner shakes his head "It's not a loop. It's the end of the line"

* * *

"This framework is not compatible" Tony sighed.

"The genetic coding tower's at nighty-seven percent. You have to upload that schematic in the next three minutes" Bruce informed.

Shepard stepped into the lab with Wanda and Pietro behind him "I'm only gonna ask this once-"

"How about nonce?" Tony said irritably.

"Stark, I just want to know-"

"Nope, not gonna happen. Not shutting it down"

"You don't even know what I am going to say"

"And you do? She's not in your head?" Banner asked pointing to Wanda.

"I know you're angry" Wanda defended.

"Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade"

"Banner! After everything that's happened-"

"That's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony yelled.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda yelled back.

"Tony, I just-"

"The creature-" Wanda tried interrupting.

Pietro sped around the room disconnecting everything "No, no. Go on. You were saying?"

Barton shot a bullet through the floor dropping him down beside him.

"Pietro!"

"What? You didn't see that coming?"

"Go ahead, piss me off" Banner said threateningly.

"Enough!" Shepard yelled blowing his top. Thor entered and pounded the cradle with his hammer sending a powerful bolt of lightning into it.

"Wait!" Bruce yelled as the Body stood and attempted to tackle Shepard. grabbing him he threw the unknown lifeform into the other room.

"I'm sorry, that was...odd" he said looking at Shepard "Thank you" he directed to Thor.

"Thor?"

"I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at it's center is that" he pointed to the gem in Vision's head.

"What the gem?" Bruce asked.

"It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in it's destructive capabilities"

"So you gave it to him?" Shepard asked confused.

"Because Stark is right"

"Oh, it's definitely the end times" Bruce joked.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron" Thor continued.

"Not alone" Vision added.

"Why does your 'Vision' sound like Jarvis?" Shepard asked.

"We...we reconfigured Jarvis' matrix to create something new" Tony answered.

"I think I've had my fill of new"

"You think I am a child of Ultron?" Vision asked.

"No, I am wondering what you are"

"I'm not Ultron. I'm not Jarvis. I am...I am-"

"I looked into your head and saw destruction"

"Look again"

"Yeah. Her seal of approval means jack to me" Barton said sarcastically.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads. Ultron himself, they are all products of the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side-" Thor explained.

"Is it? Are you? On our side?" Shepard asked.

"I don't think it's that simple"

"Well it better get simple real soon" Barton said annoyed.

"I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't, he will end it all"

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asked.

"You"

"Where?"

"Sokovia. He's got Nat there too" Barton answered.

"She's alive?" Shepard asked hopefully.

"She sent me the message in Morse Code"

Shepard sighed in relief.

"If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be-" Bruce began.

"What will you do?" They all had their hands hovering over their weapons.

"I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique, and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net, we have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go" Vision explained handing Thor his hammer to everyone's shock.

"Right. Well done" Thor said patting Tony on the shoulder.

"Bet you don't feel special with that hammer anymore" Barton called after him "That's two people this week who are 'worthy' of it" Tony added.

"Three minutes. Get what you need" Shepard ordered the others.

As everyone suited up Tony placed Friday into his Iron Man suit now that Jarvis is no longer available "Good evening, boss"

"No way we all get through this. If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. It's gonna be blood on the floor"

"I have no plans tomorrow night" Shepard smirked.

"I get first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for"

"That's true, he hates you the most" Vision said walking past him.

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done, and find out what Ultron's been building. I am going to infiltrate his base and find Natasha, we are going to clear the field. Keep the fighting between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters and we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about if he's right" Shepard stated as they flew towards Sokovia.

* * *

"Natasha! Natasha!" Shepard calls entering the large compound.

"John?" She called back standing up.

"You alright? Did he hurt you?" Shepard asked grabbing her hands through the bars.

"I'm okay. What's going on?"

"The team's in the city, it's about to light up"

"I don't suppose you found a key lying around somewhere?"

"Yeah, I did" Shepard pulled out his sword as she backed up slicing the bars in half.

"So what's our play?"

"I'm here to get you out of here, the rest of the team is evacuating the city. Once the civilians are out of the way we take down Ultron and his tin men. Oh, and if you see someone who sounds like Jarvis he is on our side, his name is Vision"

"Remind me to ask about that later"

"Let's get going" Shepard said picking her up bridal style and flew up out of the place. Natasha kissed the side of his helmet "After this we need to take some time for ourselves so I can thank you properly" he laughed in response.

* * *

"Come to confess your sins?" Ultron asked as Tony entered the building.

"I don't know. How much time you got?"

"More than you"

Tony turned around to see Ultron made some upgrades to himself "Uh...Have you been juicing? Little Vibranium cocktail? Your looking...I don't want to say puffy-"

"Your stalling to protect the people"

"Well, that is the mission. Did you forget?"

"I've moved beyond your mission. I'm free" Suddenly the Vibranium core erupts from the floor "What, you think you're the only one stalling?"

"There's the rest of the Vibranium. Function: Still unclear" Friday told him scanning the device.

"This is how you end, Tony. This is peace in my time" Ultron announces as his army starts attacking the city before the evacuation is finished.

"Ultron" Vision called announcing his presence.

"My Vision. They really did take everything from me"

"You set the terms, you can change them"

"Alright" Ultron grabs Vision by the neck slamming him into the wall. Vision places his hands on Ultron's head.

"Friday! The Vision?" Tony asked.

"Boss, it's working. He's burning Ultron out of the net, he won't escape through there"

"You shut me out! You think I care?" Ultron yelled slamming him into the ground "You take away my world, I take away yours" he activates the Vibranium core. The earth around Sokovia starts to shake and break.

"Friday?"

"Sokovia's going for a ride"

"Do you see? The beauty of it, the inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword and the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal"

"The Vibranium core has got a magnetic field, that's what's keeping the rock together" Friday explained.

"If it drops?"

"Right now the impact would kill thousands. Once it gets high enough: Global extinction" Tony flies though the city scanning buildings "That building's not clear, Tenth floor" Tony crashes through the building finding a family in their apartment "Hi, okay. Get in the tub!" he flies them out of the collapsing building in their bath tub.

"I got airborne heading for the bridge" Friday warned.

Shepard got grabbed by one of them throwing him into a car windshield.

"Commander, you got incoming"

"Incoming already came in" he groaned out getting off the car, unsheathing his sword as he charged them "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job: Tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed, walk it off" Shepard says as he cuts them apart with his sword.

Barton grabs Wanda moving her out of the way into a building as more of Ultron's robots attack the city.

"How could I let this happen?" Wanda asked breaking down.

"Hey, hey, you okay?"

"This is all our fault"

"Hey, look at me. It's your fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares. Are you up for this? Are you? Look, I just need to know, cause the city is flying. Okay, look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay? And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did, or who you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you're good, I'll send your brother to come find you, but if you step out that door, you are an Avenger"

Wanda just looks at him "Alright, good chat. Yeah, the city is flying" he mused to himself walking out the door and firing arrows at the robots.

Shepard was holding onto the bumper of a car to stop it from falling. The bumper came off causing the car to fall "Thor!" Shepard yelled as Thor flew past him onto the car. Thor grabbed her and winked throwing her upwards. Shepard stabbed his sword into the ground as he swung off the edge and grabbed her hanging off the side of the flying city "I got you! Just look at me" he told her as he helped her up to safety.

Standing up he stabbed one robot in the chest "You can't save them all. You'll never-" Shepard pulled on it sending him off the edge "You'll never what? You didn't finish!" Thor landed on the bridge on top of the woman's car he was saving "What, were you napping?" Shepard asked through breathes.

More robots attacked the two of them Natasha entered the area with her shock batons striking several of the robots upon entrance "Nice of you to drop by" Shepard said as he flipped over a car cutting one's head off as he landed.

"You know I like to make an entrance" she countered with a smirk.

Shepard tossed his sword in the air, Thor hit the handle with his hammer sending it through several of them embedding itself in the wall. Thor jumped into the air spinning he shattered many of them throwing one into a gasoline truck causing it to explode as Shepard grabbed his sword.

Wanda exited the building and began tearing the robots apart alongside Clint "Alright, we're clear here" Clint reported.

"We are not clear! We are very not clear!" Shepard yelled in response as Ultron grabbed Thor "Thor! You're bothering me!" he flew towards the church.

"Alright, coming to you"

Pietro speeds in grabbing Wanda and vanishing "Keep up old man!"

Clint aims his arrow in Pietro's direction "Nobody would know" he started jogging in the same direction they went "Last time I saw him was when Ultron was sitting on him. Uh...yeah, he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already"

"Natasha!" Shepard calls as he tosses her his sword which she uses to cut herself free of the robots grip "Thanks!" she calls back tossing it up. Shepard kicks it into another robot's head.

* * *

"The next wave's gonna hit any minute. What have we got, Stark?" Shepard asked.

"Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear"

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan"

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're going to have to make a choice"

"Shep, these people are going nowhere. If Stark finds a way to blow this rock-" Natasha started.

"Not 'til everyone's safe"

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there"

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it"

"I didn't say we should leave" Shepard turned to look at her "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" Shepard removed his helmet.

"I love you"

"I love you" She said back pulling him into a kiss.

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better" Nick Fury said over the earpiece as a Helicarrier appears from beneath the city "Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty. But she'll do"

"Fury, you son of a bitch" Shepard laughed out in relief.

"Ooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Pietro looked amazed "This is SHIELD?" he asked as lifeboats came to the city.

"This is what SHIELD's supposed to be" Shepard smiled.

"This is not so bad"

"Let's load 'em up"

Ultron's robots attacked the carrier as War Machine appeared destroying them as they appeared "Yes! Now this is gonna be a good story"

Tony showed up next to him destroying some he missed "Yep, if you live to tell it"

"You think I can't hold my own?"

"We get through this, I'll hold your own"

"You had to make it weird"

One of Ultron's robots smashes through into the carrier bridge. Fury stabbed it through the head with a piece of metal.

Ultron was punching Thor brutally "You think you're saving anyone? I turn that key and drop this rock a little early and it's still billions dead. Even you can't stop that"

"I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast, I am...running out of things to say! Are you Ready?" Vision hits Ultron with Thor's hammer, tossing it back to him "It's terribly well balanced"

"Well, if there's too much weight you lose power on the swing"

* * *

The whole Avengers team stood at the core "What's the drill?" Natasha asked breaking two of the robots as she entered "This is the drill" Tony says pointing to the core "If Ultron get's a hand on the core then we lose"

Ultron shows up as they destroyed the last of the robots attacking them "Is that the best you can do!?" Thor taunted. Ultron raised his hand in the air as the rest of his army appeared behind him.

"You had to ask" Shepard sighed.

"This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Like we always do. Together" Shepard said with a smirk as the army charged them.

Using their collective arsenal's of weapons and abilities added with teamwork they obliterated the army attacking them. Wanda would lift them into the air and Tony would blast them. Hulk would throw them around and Thor would shock them with lighting. Natasha would shoot them slowing them down enough for Shepard or Pietro to take them out before reaching the core. Vision would throw the ones in the air down as Clint shot them in their heads.

Ultron getting fed up attacked Vision who hit him with an energy beam from the Mind Stone in his forehead throwing him outside the church. Thor threw lighting at him while Tony hit him with as powerful of a blast as he could muster breaking through his Vibranium armor.

"You know, with the benefit of hindsight-" Hulk throws him up into the air as the robots start retreating.

"They'll try to leave the city" Thor warned.

"We can't let 'em, not even one. Rhodey!" Tony called.

"I'm on it! Oh no I didn't say you could leave. War Machine coming at you, right-" Rhodes yelled attacking the fleeing robots. Vision appeared and destroyed them instead "Okay, What?" he asked confused.

"We gotta move. The air is getting thin up here. You guys get to the boats and sweep for stragglers, I'm gonna get Banner and be right behind you" Shepard instructed.

"What about the core?" Clint asked.

"I'll protect it. It's my job" Wanda announced.

Shepard, Barton and Natasha left "Get the people on the boats" Wanda ordered Pietro.

"I'm not going to leave you here"

"I can handle this" she blasts an approaching robot "Come back for me when everyone else is off, not before"

"Hmm"

"You understand?"

"You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you"

Wanda laughs "Go"

"I know what I need to do. The dining room! If I knock out that east wall, it'll make a nice work space for Laura, huh? Put up some baffling, she can't hear the kids running around, What do you think?" Barton asked driving the car with Natasha towards a boat.

"You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway"

"Nobody eats in a dining room. We don't have a lot of time"

"Then let's get our asses on a boat" she advised stepping out of the car.

Entering the boat Clint hears a woman calling out for her brother "Costel! We were in the market. Castel!" sighing Barton ran off to find the kid.

"Clint!"

"I'll be right back" he called back to Natasha.

Shepard approaches Hulk "Hey big guy. You did a good job today. We are pressed for time so how about we make it quick this time?" he asked holding out his fist. Hulk reaches his fist slowly out only to get shot at by a quinjet flown by Ultron. Shepard took two bullets in his side dropping him to the floor "Damn it!" he yelled as Hulk chased after it.

"I got no strings, so I have fun. I'm not tied up to anyone" Ultron sang shooting at Barton as he picked up the kid. Pietro intervenes placing a car in front of them blocking the bullets. Clint looked at him in shock seeing him riddled with bullet wounds. "You didn't see that coming?" he choked out with a smirk. Falling he died before he hit the ground. Natasha ran over to them "Clint are you alright?" She stopped looking at the sight before her.

Clint silently handed her the kid and picked up his body carrying him to the lifeboat.

Wanda having sensed his death screeched in agony destroying all of the robots attacking her. Hulk jumped aboard the quinjet "Oh, for God's sake!" Ultron yelled being thrown out and into the city. Wanda approached Ultron as he laid there "If you stay here you'll die" Ultron warned.

"I just did. Do you know what it felt like?" Wanda removed his core from his body "It felt like that"

One Ultron barely survived activating the core making the city fall. Shepard appeared to Wanda grabbing her as she was thrown into the air as the city fell. Using his thrusters he flew himself into a lifeboat close by slamming onto the floor as he landed on his back.

"Shepard!" Natasha gasped seeing him with two holes in his chest "Someone get me some god damn morphine!" he yelled still in pain.

"Medic!" Natasha called as one came over to check his wounds. Shepard tossed off his armor so he could be treated.

"Why?" Wanda asked confused.

"Why what?"

"Why save me? All I have done is cause you pain"

"Your an Avenger. I don't leave people behind" he said with a smirk.

"It's kind of a thing with him, he'd die before abandoning a friend" Barton said as he sadly looked over Pietro's body. Wanda started crying over him.

"Where's Banner?" Natasha asked.

"On the jet. It's in stealth mode. No idea where it is now" he answered remorsefully.

"It's not your fault"

"I know, Ultron shot me. Only reason Banner isn't here with us right now"

* * *

Vision descended in front of the last Ultron as the city was destroyed while Thor and Tony escaped the blast.

"You're afraid"

"Of you?"

"Of death. You're the last one"

"You were supposed to be the last. Stark asked for a savior, and settled for a slave"

"I suppose we're both disappointments"

Ultron chuckled "I suppose we are"

"Humans are odd. They think order and chaos are somehow opposites, and try to control what won't be. But there is grace in their failings. I think you missed that"

"They're doomed"

"Yes. But a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts. It's a privilege to be among them"

"Your unbearably naïve"

"Well, I was born yesterday" Vision said as he shot him with an energy blast from the Mind Stone

* * *

"Say hi to Auntie Nat" Laura said through the phone showing her the newborn baby named Nathaniel Pietro Barton.

"Fat" she said smiling.

"One of our tech boys flagged this, splashed down in the Banda Sea. Could be the quinjet. But Stark's stealth tech makes it impossible to track the damn thing" Fury said as he entered the room giving her a datapad.

"Thank you. I know Shepard won't stop looking until we find him, he's devoted like that"

"He's a good man, Romanoff. I am glad you finally found someone who could see the same about you"

"When you sent me on that mission to watch Stark way back then. Did you know then what was going to happen?"

"You never know. You hope for the best and make do with what you get. I got a great team"

"Nothing lasts forever"

"Trouble, Miss Romanoff. No matter who wins or loses, trouble still comes around" he stated leaving.

* * *

"The Mind Stone is safe with the Vision and these days safe is in short supply" Thor said walking with Tony and Shepard outside.

"So someone told Loki about the Tesseract and that's how this whole thing started with the Infinity Stones?" Tony asked.

"The Mind Stone is the fourth Infinity Stone to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us"

"What other stones have been found?" Shepard asked curiously.

"The Power Stone was found somewhere in the galaxy I know not where. Jane found the Reality stone within the Aether that infected her not long before SHIELD fell. Lastly the Space Stone that is housed inside the Tesseract that your Red Skull found long ago"

"That just leaves two others yet to be discovered. I'll keep my ear to the ground for anything about these Infinity Stones. You think you can find out what's coming? Who's behind it?"

"I do Besides this one, there's is nothing that can't be explained" he joked gesturing to Tony.

"We'll miss you big guy" Shepard said shaking his hand.

"And I you" he answered before he traveled back to Asgard. A circle was burned into the grass he was standing on.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance" Tony joked "I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of mainly tears"

"I will miss you, Tony" Shepard agreed as Tony's car pulled up next to them.

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up"

"The simple life"

"You'll get there one day. You and Romanoff both I hope"

"I don't know. Family, stability. Not something I need right now, I already have you guys. My home is with Natasha"

"You alright?" Tony asked getting into his car.

"I'm home" he answered looking at Natasha through the window.

"Call me if you ever need me" Tony waved out as he drove away.

Shepard entered the building approaching Natasha "You want to keep staring at the wall or do you want to go to work? I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall"

"I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes. How do we look?"

"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees" he handed Natasha the datapad.

"We've got some hitters"

"They're good. They're not a team. Not yet"

""Let's beat 'em into shape" Natasha smirked as they entered the room.

Rhodes was in his War Machine suit, Sam in his Falcon suit with Wanda and Vison.

"Avengers..."

* * *

 **That's the last chapter for a couple days. I'll have next chapter up by Tuesday I promise. Thanks for your support you guys!**


	15. Dark past

**I'm back! I hope everyone had a great Father's Day. Enjoy chapter fifteen!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Thoughts_

Speech

* * *

 **Chapter fifteen: Dark past**

Natasha was sparring with Wanda, it was the early hours of the morning, the sun wasn't even up yet. Wanda was panting in exhaustion.

"Focus Wanda! Keep your arms up" Natasha lectured sweeping her legs out from under her.

"I'm trying" she breathed out struggling to get up.

"We can stop for today, go get yourself something to eat" she said offering her hand to help her up.

"Thank you" she smiled accepting the offer.

Natasha nodded as she walked off towards the railing overlooking the lower training floor. Leaning onto the rail she saw Shepard with Sam, James, and Vision. They had all failed to beat him in a fight last week one-on-one. The three of them agreed to fight him together. Shepard stood there with a broad grin on his face.

"Same rules as before guys. No guns, Everything else goes"

"You're going down today, buddy" Sam said with a smirk.

"Your chances of success are very low, Commander" Vision informed.

"I don't need to know the odds of a fight to know we are gonna win" Rhodes taunted.

"Enough posturing. Show me how well you can work together" Shepard said placing his helmet on "Begin!" he yelled standing in a defensive stance.

Rhodes attacked him head on, Shepard jumped back avoiding Rhodes attacks as he sidestepped and ducked under his flurry of kicks and punches. Vision came from through the floor grabbing his legs. Using this opportunity Rhodes attacked him. Shepard grabbed caught his punch, he used him to pull Vision out of the ground as he lifted himself over Rhodes. Same used this moment to swoop in with his Falcon suit to hit him from above. Shepard twisted himself away from them with Vision still attached to his legs he grabbed his head and smashed it into his knee.

"I didn't expect you'd do this well" Shepard complimented.

"Next time we are gonna get you!" Rhodes yelled as he charged him.

"However...Next time will be different" Shepard finished switching to an offensive stance.

Shepard caught Rhodes kick and head-butted him making him stumble back. Vision flew at him from his left in an attempt to flank him, Shepard flipped over him as he kicked Rhodes to the ground. Grabbing Vision's cape he swung him around as Sam descended towards him, letting go Vision was launched into Sam as he attacked. Shepard grabbed Sam's arm positioning himself to snap it.

"You're done, Wilson"

"Damn it!"

Rhodes and Vision stood up and attacked him from both sides. Shepard kicked Rhodes in the chest stumbling him back while he punched Vision in the chin as he approached in the air. Following up with a kick to his back sending him into the ground he turned him over catching his punch he placed his boot on his throat.

"Better luck next time"

"I am surprised, Commander. Your file doesn't reflect this level of ability"

Shepard stood facing Rhodes "Just you and me now, Colonel"

Rhodes flew towards him reaching for him. Shepard ducked at the last moment grabbing him by his arm he slammed him into the ground pulling his mask off with his hands.

"You're exposed"

"Ya, I get it. I'm exposed means I'm dead"

"Exactly" Shepard offered him a hand up "You all did very well. Your teamwork was perfect"

"But we still didn't win" Vision said with confusion on his face.

"You only lost because I know how you all think and move. Next time your opponent won't" Shepard said taking his mask off "You can all take the rest of the day off from training. You've earned it"

* * *

Shepard changed out of his armor as Natasha entered their room.

"You kicked their ass out there. That should put their ego down for a while"

"I do my best to make sure they don't get ahead of themselves"

"You did a good job of that" Natasha answered with a smirk kissing him on the cheek.

Shepard returned the gesture with a sad look "What's wrong?" Natasha asked curiously.

"I've done a great deal of thinking recently"

"What about?"

"Something Thor said before he left"

"About the Infinity Stones you mean?"

"Yes. Specifically the part that he told me about someone using us as pawns"

"John, you can't-"

"I have to, Natasha"

"Why?"

"Thor tells me that someone is using us as pawns to locate the Infinity Stones. There are six of them and four of them have been found"

"There is six? We have already seen what just the Mind Stone can do"

"Exactly. Someone is looking for all six, if they find them they could potentially be the most powerful being in the universe"

"Where are the other three that were found?"

"The Tesseract houses the Space Stone back in Asgard. The Aether that infected Jane Foster somehow houses the Reality Stone which Thor assured me is in safe hands. There is also the Power Stone that Thor said he didn't know it's location. There are still two others that hadn't been found when Thor had his vision"

"So we are potentially facing someone who could have the power of two Infinity Stones"

"Exactly, could even be three if we include the Power Stone"

"That's a dangerous combination"

"That's why I have been so hard on the others"

"I understand. I hope Thor comes back soon and tells us what's going on with that"

"I know Tony would help us if we ever needed it. I hope Thor would return if we need him, but I don't know about Banner though"

"I hope we wont need them"

"Me too" Shepard agreed as she pulled him into a hug.

* * *

Shepard was tossing and turning in his sleep waking Natasha as she looked over to see him "John...John, wake up" she said gently shaking him awake. He sat straight up sweating and panting.

"John? Nightmares again?"

"Yes" he breathed out quietly.

"You know that's in the past. You don't hurt people anymore like that"

"I wasn't hurting anyone. You died" Shepard said turning to her.

"Oh...You know that's not going to happen right?"

"I know...I just didn't like seeing it happen over and over again"

Natasha pulled him into a hug "I'm never going to leave you, and you're never going to leave me right?"

"Right" he agreed returning the hug. Looking at the clock that read 7AM "We should probably get out of bed

* * *

"Why are we here?" Natasha asked as Shepard led her down the hallway.

"Seeing an old friend" he answered opening the door to a small bedroom with an old woman laying in it.

"Shepard! I'm so glad you came to visit. I didn't know how you were doing after Sokovia-" she stopped seeing the woman behind him she stared in surprise before she started to smile warmly "This is her isn't it?"

"Natasha this is Peggy Carter my old partner in the SSR and boss back at SHIELD"

Natasha looked at him in surprise, her eyes moved back to Peggy "It's an honor to meet you ma'am"

"Please, call me Peggy. Come and sit" she said gesturing to the seat next to her. Natasha did as she was told. Peggy took her hand in hers "You have no idea how long I have been waiting to meet you"

"Me? Why would you want to meet me?"

"Because you are the only woman in the world who captured Shepard's heart" she answered smiling brightly.

Natasha looked shocked as she looked to Shepard who nodded in agreement "You have never loved anyone else before me?"

"No, you are the first person I have ever felt like this for"

Natasha smiled happily at him "I haven't felt anything like this before either. I am just happy that you aren't ashamed of me"

"Why would he be ashamed of you?"

"Because if what I did in the past"

"You mean after the Red Room? I heard about what they did to you kids in there. Disgusting"

"I know"

"But that isn't who you are, I saw you on the TV saving lives in New York and then again when SHIELD was eclipsed by Hydra you fought against them protecting the weak and innocent from them"

"Let's not forget all the help she contributed to stopping Ultron and evacuating Sokovia" Shepard piped in.

"Exactly my point. You are not the person you were forced to be. Shepard isn't the man he was in the past either. You have both grown into great people, heroes"

"What did you used to do before?" She directed to Shepard "You haven't told me anything other than you killed for money"

"The earliest memory I have was in the year 1095. I fought as a hired mercenary and assassin for a great many years. I fought in the Crusades, I worked as a professional assassin in renaissance Italy the pope had a lot of targets he wanted killed, that was until I received a contract for his head. I was a pirate and a privateer as well as a hired mercenary during the American Revolution. I continued down this path of mindless death until I met Johann Schmidt who later became the Red Skull and created Hydra. You know the rest from there"

"What about before 1095? Zola said you were born in 925"

"I don't remember anything from before then. All I remember is my mother and father. Their faces at least"

"You should talk to Fury, he knows a guy who can help you" Peggy said grabbing their attention.

"What?" Shepard asked confused.

"Fury, he knows a guy who can help you recover those lost memories"

"Where?"

"I don't know, you know where to find his grave" Peggy answered as she started to drift off to sleep "Go find your past"

* * *

Natasha and Shepard stood in front of Fury's grave waiting "You think he'll show?" Natasha asked.

"No. I know he has someone watching this though"

"And they will tell him"

"Or they will send someone else out to see us"

"Someone like me?" a woman asked approaching them.

"May? Agent May?" Natasha asked surprised.

"Why are you looking for Fury, Romanoff?" May asked without answering her.

"Because Peggy Carter told us he knew someone who could help me uncover my past"

"That's incorrect there is no one that-" May stopped as she put her hand to her ear "Sir, I don't think we should...Yes, sir. Follow me" she instructed leading them to a van and handing them two black sacks.

"Really?" Shepard asked unamused. May thrust it into his hand "Put it on or I will force it on" she said getting into the driver seat.

* * *

Exiting the van they found themselves in what looked to be a hanger. There was a giant black plane sitting in it with a SHIELD symbol on the wings.

"So...this is where SHIELD has been hiding and rebuilding itself"

"SHIELD has been recreated by the director"

"Who is the director? Fury?" Natasha asked.

"No. You will see"

"Lead on" Shepard gestured to the door they were heading into "By the way you should really just knock out anyone you take to the base unless you fly them there. You only took three lefts and a right before making a U-turn to park in a secret garage outside a bar the lowered us into this base and drove us here" he explained.

May smirked "Director wanted me to test you" she replied opening the door. She led them down a hallway passing by a large lab area with many people in lab coats working around the equipment "Fitz! Simmons!"

"Yes, May?" They both answered looking up from their equipment.

"Do we still have the theta brain wave-frequency machine in lockup?"

"Yes, we can go set it up-" Fitz answered stopping to stare at Natasha and Shepard "You! You're Commander Shepard and the Black Widow!" he said excitedly.

"And you are?" Shepard asked.

"Leopold Fitz at your service I used your weapon designs to create our incapacitating cartridge emitting railguns"

"Your what?" Natasha asked confused.

"ICER is what we call them. They are just like your weapons except with three times the stopping power. They enable us to take down targets without killing them" Simmons explained "Jemma Simmons" she extended her hand to her "It's an honor to meet you both"

"So you have something like my bullets that have three times more stopping power? I need to get my hands on some of those, that would've made Killian and his thugs go down a lot easier than mine did" Shepard mused to himself.

"Fitz and Simmons will set up the machine for you, we should go meet the director" May said leading them out of the room.

Walking past what looked to be a training room there was two men sparing with a blonde woman watching "Bobbi?" Natasha asked.

"Romanoff? What are you doing here?" she asked with a surprised smile.

"We are here to see the director, apparently"

The two men stopped sparing "Who's this?" the shorter man asked skeptically.

"Commander Shepard and Natasha Romanoff" May answered.

"The Black Widow?" the taller one asked

"Yes" Bobbi answered "This is Mac and Hunter" she introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you" Shepard said shaking their hands.

"If you're here for the director then you should head upstairs and see him" Mac said as he sat down on a nearby bench.

"Let's go" May said leading them upstairs.

There was three voices coming from the office. May knocked on the door "They're here director"

"Enter"

Opening the door they saw a man and a woman moving out of the way for them to see Phil Coulson "Hey there" he waved smiling.

"Coulson?" Natasha asked shocked.

"How are you not dead?" Shepard asked annoyed at him.

"I did die. I was just resurrected by project TAHITI. Fury oversaw the project to revive a fallen Avenger"

"That sounds like Fury" Shepard deadpanned still annoyed.

"so this is the guy you talk about all the time?" the girl asked.

"Yes. Commander Shepard, this is SHIELD Agent Skye and Agent Lincoln"

"It's Daisy, Coulson"

"Right, Agent Daisy Johnson" he corrected.

Lincoln and Daisy, this is Commander Shepard and former SHIELD Agent Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow"

"Nice to meet you" she said shaking their hands.

"Carter tells me you know how to help me remember my past. Is that true?" Shepard asked.

"I cannot guarantee anything. But I can definitely do my best to help you, Commander"

* * *

"Fitz?" Coulson asked as he entered the room with everyone following.

"The machine is all set to go. Commander you will lay here and the machine will do all the work for you. All you have to do is focus on the memories you wish to uncover"

"Thank you" Shepard said approaching the machine. Natasha grabbed his hand stopping him "You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to"

"I know. No matter how painful the memories could be I need to know what happened to my parents"

"I understand. But sometimes knowing doesn't help you"

"She's right" Coulson agreed.

"Thank you. Both of you, but I need to do this" he laid into the machine as the part above him began spinning. Shepard focused on the memory of his mother and father above him with loving smiles. Suddenly the image began to fade revealing two blue men standing above him with tools in their hands. Looking around confused he saw his head was detached from his torso, his arms and legs were on tables around the room. They began speaking in an unknown language and yet he could understand what they were saying.

 _This one will replace the failures from before_

 _They only failed because of him_

 _I know. This one will not fail like the last one. We have learned from our mistakes_

 _He will hunt down our failures on this wretched planet until they are nothing more than a memory. Then we will focus on our true enemy_

 _The Immortal Titans_

 _As powerful as they are, not even they can stand up to an indestructible enemy_

 _He is meant for war and they will never see him coming_

 _Finally we shall be the rightful rulers of this galaxy. No one will stand in the way of our indestructible army_

 _They will only be alive long enough to conquer this galaxy for us and then we shall let them go without the serum that keeps them this way_

 _As long as they have it in their blood they will not age or be able to die. We only have to replace it in their blood every thousand years_

 _Yes, they will have plenty of time to lead our conquest of our rightful place in this wretched community the Nova Corps have in place_

 _Lets put him under. We still have a few hundred more to create. But he will be their leader_

he awoke in a dark room floating in a green liquid filling the tank he was placed in with his body parts in their rightful place. The room suddenly shook as an explosion tore the door open sending it through the tank and into his chest. Roaring in agony as he pulled himself off the door slicing the wires connected to his body with it, his wounds were healed by the time he touched the floor. He walked towards the door slowly not having gained his balance. There were dead bodies littering the hallways some were blue and others were purple. Finding a hallway with the two types of aliens fighting each other, one of the purple ones pointed at him.

 _Kill the abomination!_

The purple man attacked him with a giant hammer slamming him into the ground. He stood up as his injuries healed almost instantly. He picked up a blade from the nearby corpse of the blue man. He cut through all the men in front of him, he continued to kill everyone that crossed his path. Arriving at a hanger he cut his way into a nearby ship the blue men were trying to get inside of. He was thrown against the wall suddenly as the ship took off.

When he awoke the men in the ship were dead and most of the floor was covered in water. Making his way outside he found lush greenery around him with a river stretching out from underneath the ship. He walked off towards the smoke he saw coming from above the trees. Shepard shot up as his eyesight returned showing Natasha and the others in front of him curiously waiting for him to speak.

"What did you see?" Natasha asked worriedly.

"I...I was...I'm a monster"

"What? What happened? What did you see?" Natasha insisted grabbing him by the shoulders.

"I was made in a lab. There were these blue men who made me with tools they had. I don't know what language they spoke but I understood what they were saying"

"What did they say?" Simmons asked curiously.

"They said I was a weapon to hunt down their failures and then I was supposed to lead an army with abilities like mine against the Immortal Titans and help them conquer the galaxy"

"That sounds like the Kree" Coulson concluded "They put their blood into humans to create what the world knows as Inhumans. I don't know what to tell you about the Titans though. I have no idea what they are"

"I wasn't born I was made, I am the product of a syringe. A science experiment"

"No you aren't. You are Commander Johnathan Shepard. You may not have parents like everyone else, but you aren't what they made you to be. You don't kill people anymore and you fight to protect people not to help the ambitious rule the world" Natasha said grabbing his face and forcing him to look at her.

"But-"

"I still love you Shepard. I don't think any different about you knowing this, because I know who you are at heart"

Shepard sat silently staring at her "I love you too" he said pulling her into a hug.

"Fury still owes me fifty bucks for calling this relationship" Coulson said to May.

* * *

"Thank you for all of your help Coulson" Shepard said as they were being walked out.

"Anytime, I'm always here with SHIELD if the Avengers ever need help"

"I think with you in charge SHIELD can be what it was meant to be when I founded it"

"Glad you approve. I have taken the liberty of setting you up in our system. If you ever need anything or have a requisition for our ICER weapons, just ask"

"Thank you"

"I'm really glad to be working with you again. If you ever want SHIELD and the Avengers to join together let me know"

"I'll think about it. I want to see what you turn SHIELD into first"

"Fair enough. I hear Barton and Stark have retired from the Avengers"

"Yes they have, Thor is gone on a search for answers about the Infinity Stones and Banner is God only knows where"

"What's an Infinity Stone?"

"I have no idea. I just know a new addition to the team called Vision has one in his head and the Tesseract houses one so that tells you how powerful they are"

"There's six of them according to Thor and someone has been playing an intricate game to find them all. Thor is trying to stop them from finding the remaining two that have yet to be discovered" Natasha informed.

"We will keep our eyes and ears open for anything on them and let you know if we find anything. Who is replacing the other members?"

"Sam Wilson AKA Falcon, Wanda Maximoff AKA Scarlet Witch, and Colonel James Rhodes AKA War Machine, also Vision as I told you"

"I hope they are up to the task"

"They will be. I just hope we won't need to call the others out of retirement anytime soon. We made Wanda's brother Pietro Maximoff an official Avenger after he died in the fight against Ultron in Sokovia. We designated him Quicksilver"

"I'm sure he is honored"

"Pleasure working with you again" Shepard said shaking his hand.

"Agreed. I hope we won't ever have to work together out of necessity"

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter. Hope you all liked it my next chapter will be up soon**


	16. The Accords

**I apologize to everyone previously following this story I needed to take a break for a bit (a long one apparently) I wasn't feeling this story and finally have a clear vision of where I want this story to go. Thank you for your patience and I hope you all enjoy. Thank you for reading and hope any of you that are returning enjoy this stories conclusion. This will have spoilers for Captain America: Civil War. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I suggest you don't read.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination!**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen: The Accords**

Lagos, Nigeria

"What have you got?" Shepard asked looking out the hotel window.

"Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target" Wanda listed off from a table at a café across the road from him.

"ATM in the south corner"

"Which means cameras"

"Both cross streets are one way"

"compromised escape routes"

"Means he doesn't care about being seen, or making a mess on the way out. Maybe he's expecting us"

"Delightful"

"See the Range Rover halfway up the block?"

"The red one? It's cute"

"It's also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us" Natasha chimed in from an opposite table to Wanda.

"You guys know I can move things with my mind right?"

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature" Natasha informed.

"Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" Sam asked from the hotel rooftop.

"Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?" she countered.

"Stay focused, Rumlow isn't an easy target to find. I don't want him getting away again" Shepard ordered.

"If he sees us coming that wont be a problem. He kind of hates us" Sam added.

"Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it"

"Give me an X-ray" Sam whispered to himself as his redwing scanned the truck "That truck's loaded for maximum weight. And the driver's armed"

"It's a battering ram" Natasha concluded.

"Move now!" Shepard ordered rushing out of the building.

"What?" Wanda asked confused.

"He's not after the police" Natasha said grabbing her as she ran past.

The driver dove out of the truck just before it crashed through the gate of the Institute for Infectious Diseases. Shepard charged shooting two men getting out of the back of armored vehicles. Shepard grabbed the one nearest to him bashed his weapon into his face then chopped the back of his neck rendering him unconscious.

"Body armor, AR15s. I make seven hostiles"

Sam descended onto the roof taking down two men who posted themselves there with both his pistols "I make five"

"Sam!" Wanda called out lifting one into the air being close lined by Sam.

"Four" he corrected "Rumlow's on the third floor"

"Wanda, send me in" Shepard ordered.

"What about the gas?"

"Get it out"

Shepard was thrown inside the third floor window by Wanda he smashed a thug into the nearest pillar before shooting another to his left. Grabbing the rifle of the thug to his right he shot the one behind him in the leg kicking the other back into the wall then swinging around with another kick to the face knocking them both out. Entering a secluded containment room he found it empty.

"Rumlow has a biological weapon"

"I'm on it" Natasha reported as she arrived around the back of the building on her bike diving off it taking down three thugs quickly. Natasha starts throwing punches left and right at Rumlow who shrugged them off easily. Shocking him in the neck with her widows bite, Rumlow just cackled hoarsely.

"I don't work that way no more" he grabs her by the hair and throws her into the armored vehicle with two other armed men "Fire in the hole" he said dropping a grenade and closing the hatch. Natasha kicked one in the face and placed herself behind the second sending her out the door unharmed but winded.

Shepard runs out to the balcony to receive a grenade launcher blast to his side sending him off the opposite side crashing into multiple lower balconies on the way down.

"Sam. He's in an AFV heading north" he choked out struggling to get up through the pain.

Rumlow handed one of his men the vial "Take this to the airstrip. We're not gonna outrun them. Lose the truck" he said as he jumped out of the back.

"Where are you going to meet us?"

"I'm not" he answered pulling out two hydraulic gauntlets.

"I got four, they're splitting up" Sam from his redwing.

"I got the two on the left" Natasha informed jumping across car tops.

Shepard arrived where the truck stopped to find a pile of armor "The ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload" Turing abruptly he raised his arms to block a punch from Rumlow only to be thrown back against the truck by the power in the gauntlets.

"There you are, you son of a bitch. I've been waiting for this!"

Sam took down both the thugs on the right "He doesn't have it. I'm empty" he reported annoyed.

Natasha caught up with the other two to find one holding it out over the ground "Drop it or I drop this" he demanded as she drew a gun on him.

"He'll do it!" the other yelled just before being shot in the back by redwing. Natasha shot the other before dropping onto her back to catch the weapon.

"Payload secure. Thanks Sam"

"Don't thank me"

"I'm not thanking that thing"

"His name is Redwing"

"I'm still not thanking it"

"He's cute. Go ahead, pet him"

"This is for dropping a building on my face!" Rumlow yelled crashing his fist into the wall. Shepard ducked under his next swing grabbing his arm and twisting it so the gauntlet came off before breaking his arm with his elbow. Following similarly with the other arm he disarmed Rumlow. Dropping to his knees he sighed in defeat as Shepard removed his mask.

"I think I look pretty good. All things considered"

"I need a name"

"You know, he knew you. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky"

"What?"

"He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me "Please tell Shepard. When you gotta go, you gotta go" Rumlow smiled "And your coming with me!" he yelled detonating a suicide vest.

Wanda stopped the explosion before he was caught in it and lifted him up sending him into a nearby building when the explosion went off. Wanda covers her mouth in shock at what she had just done.

"Oh my... Sam... We need Fire and Rescue on the south side of the building. We gotta get up there" he ordered racing into the building to help anyone trapped inside.

* * *

"What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?" The news anchor asked as the TV shut off. Shepard stood in the doorway to Wanda's room placing the remote on the nightstand.

"It's my fault"

"That's not true"

"Turn the TV back on. They're being very specific"

"I should've seen the bomb vest before you had to deal with it. Rumlow said Bucky and I froze" he said sitting on the bed next to her "Those people died and that's on me"

"It's on both of us"

"This job... We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody. But if we can't find a way to live with that, next time, maybe nobody gets saved"

Wanda smiled appreciatively at him. Vision enters the room through the wall causing them both to jump. Shepard was up with his pistol drawn by the time he fully entered the room.

"Vis! We talked about this" Wanda warned.

"Yes, but the door was opened so I assumed that-" he cut himself off gesturing to the door "Commander Shepard wished to be informed when Mr. Stark was arriving"

"Thank you. We'll be right down"

"I'll... use the door. Oh, and apparently, he's brought a guest"

"Who?"

"Thaddeus Ross"

"The Secretary of State? I always hated that guy" he groaned placing his face in his hands.

* * *

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable dept. You have fought for us... protected us, risked your lives... but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some... who prefer the word "Vigilantes" Ross droned on.

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asked.

"How about "dangerous"? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals... who routinely ignore sovereign borders... and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" Ross lectured showing pictures "New York. Washington DC. Sokovia. Lagos"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" Sam yelled accusingly.

"It means that we don't exactly leave a lot left behind when we are done saving a place from destruction" Rhodes chimed in.

"Oh now you on his side?"

"I'm not-"

"Enough!" Shepard said authoritatively.

"For the past four years you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision"

"Technically S.H.I.E.L.D. had been supervising us for at least half of that time" Tony interrupted.

"That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution" He pulls a thick document out of a case and places it on the table "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries... it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary"

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that" Shepard said standing from his seat.

"Tell me Commander, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?"

"Thor is back in Asgard, and Banner went his own way. You're point is moot"

"If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes... you can bet there'd be consequences"

"So the Avengers are weapons not people now?" Shepard clarified.

"This is the middle ground, and the best deal you guys are gonna get"

"So there are contingencies?" Rhodes asked.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over"

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha inquired.

"Then you retire"

"You're funny" Shepard mumbled under his breath.

* * *

"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have" Rhodes argued with Sam.

"He's also responsible for Polonsky being permanently like the Hulk" Shepard added.

"So say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals"

"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like "No, that's cool. We got it"

"How long are you gonna play both sides?"

"I have an equation" Vision interrupted.

"Oh, this will clear it up" Sam added sarcastically.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate"

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Shepard asked.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge invites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand"

"Boom" Rhodes chimes.

"Tony. You're being uncharacteristically non-hyper verbal" Natasha pointed out.

"It's because he's already made up his mind" Shepard answered.

"Boy, you know me so well. Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on bud. It's just pain. It's discomfort" Tony responded irritably holding the side of his head as he walked towards the sink "Who's putting coffee grinds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

"Tony" Shepard curtly addressed him standing from his seat "What's really bothering you?"

Tony picked up his phone with a photo of a smiling young man on it "That's Charles Spencer by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul... before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service."

Shepard arched his eyebrow confused by his sudden interest in this kid "You're addressing him in past tense Tony"

"Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do" he continued undeterred "He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where, Sokovia"

The others in the room were shocked slowly understanding his anger "He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass"

"That isn't your fault-"

"Yes it is! There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys"

Shepard sighed deeply understanding Tony's current feelings on the matter "Someone dies on your watch, you can't just give up"

"Who said we're giving up?"

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame to somebody else"

"I'm sorry. Commander. That is a dangerously arrogant way to think about this. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not S.H.E.I.L.D., it's not Hydra" Rhodes cut in.

"No, but it's run by people with agendas and those agendas can change"

"That's good. That's why I'm here" Tony insisted "When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing"

"You chose to do that, Tony. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own"

"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty"

"You're saying they'll come for me" Wanda concluded.

"We would protect you" Vision assured.

"Maybe Tony's right. If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-" Natasha started.

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam asked.

"I'm just... reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back"

"Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?"

"Oh, I want to take it back now"

"No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed, I win"

"It's not over that quickly-" Shepard countered.

"You heard your lady friend. She agrees with me and that means you agree with me too"

"That's not-" Shepard's phone began ringing "Sorry I have to take this" he said exiting the room he answered the phone "Hello"

"What was that?" Sam just asked confused.

"I'll go talk to him" Natasha said standing up to follow.

Entering the stairwell she watches as Shepard punches the wall his fist going right through it "Damn it"

"John" Natasha said quietly "What is it?"

"Peggy... she just passed away"

* * *

 _Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy. She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related. I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move... it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in they eye and say "No, you move."_

Sharon's words just kept playing in his head after the funeral ended. Shepard stood looking up at the casket as everyone exited the building. Natasha walked up next to him.

"She was one of the greatest partners I have ever known. S.H.I.E.L.D. was her legacy. She deserved better"

"She had you Shepard. I don't think she had any regrets knowing you would always have her back"

He smiled lightly at that then quickly went back to a frown "Who else signed?"

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision"

"Clint?"

"Says he's retired"

"Wanda?"

"TBD. I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet" she offered hopefully.

Shepard sighed with a small smile "Thanks...I'll just..."

"Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together"

"What are we giving up to do it? I'm sorry, Natasha. I can't sign it"

"I know"

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I didn't want you to be alone" she answered pulling him into a hug

* * *

Natasha picked up her phone "Yeah?"

"You alright?" asked with concern after hearing about the bombing over the news.

"Ah, yeah, thanks. I got lucky" Frowning she looks around, then stands up. "I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do. Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please"

"Are you saying you'll arrest me?"

"No. Someone will. If you interfere. That's how it works now"

"I'm not helping him escape. I'm bringing him in"

"Why?"

"Because I'm the one least likely to die trying" he finished hanging up the phone.

She started looking around desperately looking for him"Shit"

Sam approached him from behind " She tell you to stay out of it? Might have a point"

"I owe him"

"No you don't. If anything I'd say you're even"

"He'd do it for me"

"1945, maybe. I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me"

Shepard smirked "You don't have to come I can do this. You don't need to put yourself in this situation"

"I'll always have your back, Commander"

"You're a good man"

"I know" he grinned.

* * *

"Head's up, Commander. German special forces approaching from the south" Sam reported.

"Understood" Turning around slightly surprised he saw Bucky standing there defensively "Do you know me?"

"You're Shepard. I read about you in a museum" he answered.

"They've set the perimeter" Sam added again.

"I know you're nervous. You have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying"

"I wasn't in Vienna.I don't do that anymore"

"They're entering the building"

"The people who think you did are coming here now. They aren't planning on taking you alive"

"That's smart. Good strategy"

"They're on the roof. I'm compromised"

"This doesn't have to end with a fight Buck"

"It always ends with a fight" he sighed.

"Five seconds"

"You pulled me from the river. Why?"

"I don't know"

"Three seconds"

"Yes you do"

"Breach! Breach! Breach!"

A grenade flies through the window, Shepard catches it and throws it back out. A second one flies through the other window. Bucky kicks it to Shepard who smothers it with his staff's shield.

Bucky throws the table at the door lodging it in the handle stopping it from opening. Two men enter through the windows. Bucky grabs one and throws him against the wall while Shepard yanked the floor mat out from under the other knocking him over.

A third entered through the balcony door, Shepard grabbed his gun and kicked him out of the door then grabbed Bucky "Stop! You're gonna kill someone!"

Bucky knocks him down and punches through the floor next to him head grabbing a backpack "I'm not gonna kill anyone" he throws it outside onto the opposite rooftop.

Bucky puts his metal hand up to block bullets from another officer entering the room. another pokes his gun through the adjacent window Bucky throws Shepard into him while blocking the others gunfire. Grabbing him he slams his head into the shelf then hits him in the chest with a cinderblock that was being used to prop up the shelf. Shepard grabbed the officers gun and hit him in the face with the butt of it.

Bucky rams his hand through the door proceeding to take down multiple other officers as he went down the stairs using his metal arm and the battering ram as a weapon.

Shepard rejoined the fight grabbing an officers radio and smashing it in his hands as he attempted to call for help. Jumping down to the lower set of stairs he knocked an officer into the wall with his shoulder. Turning he grabbed an officer by the shoulder as he fell over the railing.

"Come on, man" he said looking at Bucky before throwing him back onto the staircase. Bucky broke the railing and used it to go to a lower floor kicking an officer as he went.

Shepard attached a tether to two officers then threw one over the railing leaving him hanging and the other against the railing.

An officer pointed his gun at Bucky only to get shot by Shepard. Bucky looked at him before jumping down multiple floors and grabbing a railing to catch himself. Running through the hallway he jumped at the edge barely making it across to the rooftop and grabbing his bag as he landed.

Running he noticed a shadow coming closer to him, he ducked just in time to miss being hit by a man in a full black suit with sliver claws and catlike ears on his head. They began fighting as Shepard made it to the balcony.

"Sam, southwest rooftop"

"Who the hell's the other guy?"

"Let's go find out" Shepard jumped across the gap landing onto the rooftop with Bucky. Bucky was struggling to keep his claws away from his face. A helicopter began firing at him the bullets just bouncing off his suit.

"Sam"

"Got him" he closed his wings kicking the tail of the helicopter causing it to spin. Bucky tossed him off his chest and ran to the edge of the roof dropping down to a lower floor continuously as the man in black followed closely.

Shepard jumped following them both to the ground floor as they ran towards the street. The helicopter returned firing at Bucky he jumped down into the underpass followed by the stranger and Shepard. A police car cam alongside Shepard. Diving onto the windshield he stopped the car grabbing the driver and tossing him out then kicking out the windshield.

The stranger jumped on the back of the car as he passed. Shepard swerved around trying to knock him off "Sam, I cant shake this guy"

"I'm right behind you"

Bucky jumped over the barriers to avoid the police cars cutting him off. Shepard followed driving through them. Bucky grabbed the handle of a passing motorcycle and jumped on it. Shepard followed closely behind. Jumping off the hood of the car the stranger was grabbed by the throat by Bucky. He kicked Bucky knocking the bike over.

Using his metal arm he stopped himself from falling over and kicked him off the bike. Shepard narrowly avoided hitting him. He jumped onto the back of Sam while he flew after them. Bucky threw an explosive on the exit.

Sam pulled back causing the man in black to fly through the rubble and grab Bucky knocking him off his bike. Shepard swerved exiting the vehicle and running as it flipped over the rubble tackling the stranger before he killed Bucky.

Drawing his sword he pointed it toward the stranger and his pistol at Bucky.

Rhodes landed next to them holding his repulsors at Bucky and the stranger "Stand down now!"

the stranger and Bucky put their hands in the air. Shepard sheathed his sword and holstered his pistol.

"Congratulations Commander, you're a criminal"

"I've been worse"

The stranger took his mask off revealing T'Challa the son of the king of Wakanda who was killed in the bombing of Vienna.

"Your Highness?" Rhodes asked confused.

* * *

"So, you like cats?" Sam asked in the armored car with T'Challa and Shepard.

"Sam"

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't want to know more?"

"You're suit is Vibranium"

T'Challa's eyes narrow as he looks at Shepard with a side glance "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. So, I ask you... as both warrior and king... how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"

"Long enough to find out if he was really behind it or not"

"And when you find out he's guilty?"

"Then he'll answer for his crimes"

Arriving at the facility they were escorted out of the vehicle and inside to see Bucky in some giant pod cell being carried off by a forklift.

"What's going to happen to him?" Shepard asked as Secretary Ross approached.

"Same thing that ought to happen to you. Psychological evaluation and extradition"

"And my lawyer?"

"Lawyer? That's funny. see their weapons placed in lockup. Oh, we'll write you a receipt"

"I better not look out a window and see anybody flying around in that" Sam warned.

"You'll be provided an office instead of a cell. Now, do me a favor, stay in it?"

"I'm not intending on going anywhere" T'Challa answered.

Natasha entered the office "For the record, this is what making things worse looks like"

"He isn't dead"

"No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup" Tony said to his phone as he entered the room.

"Try not to break anything while we fix this" Natasha joked giving him a quick kiss.

"Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir"

"Consequences?" Shepard smirked.

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something"

"I'm not getting my sword back am I?"

"Technically, it's the governments property. Wings, too" Natasha answered.

"That's cold" Sam said dejectedly.

"Warmer than jail"

* * *

Shepard stood in a glass office overlooking the control room "Hey you wanna see something cool?" Tony asked entering pulling out two pens in a black presentation box "I pulled something from my Dad's archives. Felt timely. FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Providing support to the allies when they needed it most"

"Some would say it brought America closer to war"

"See? If not for these, you never would've stopped Hydra from taking over the world. I'm trying to... what do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?"

"Is Pepper here? I didn't see her?"

"We're kinda, well, not kinda-"

"Pregnant?"

"No! Definitely no. We're taking a break. It's nobody's fault"

"I'm sorry, Tony. I didn't know"

"A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then, I never stopped. Because the truth is I don't wanna stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference" he stands up and paces "In her defense I'm a handful. Yet, Dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work"

"I'm glad Howard got married. Never would've had such a great friend as you if he didn't"

"Don't make it weird"

"I don't mean to make things difficult"

"I know, because you're a very polite person"

"If I see a solution going bad. I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could"

"No you don't"

Shepard smiled thinly "No, I don't. Sometimes-"

"Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth. Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't wanna see you gone. We need you, Shepard. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center... instead of a Wakandan prison"

"I'm not saying it's impossible. But there would have to be safeguards" he said picking up a pen with a frown.

"Sure. Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated-"

"Wanda? What about Wanda?"

"She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company"

"Tony!"

"What? It's a 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people"

"Protection? Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony"

"She's not a US citizen"

"Come on, Tony"

"They don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction"

"She's a kid!"

"GIVE ME A BREAK! I'm doing what has to be done... to stave off something worse"

"Keep telling yourself that" Shepard placed the pen back "I'd hate to break up the set" then turns to leave the office.


	17. Choosing Sides

**Chapter two of the Civil War Arc. Next chapter will finish it off. Hope you all enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen: Choosing Sides**

Shepard stood in an office with Sam watching Bucky's evaluation on a nearby computer screen.

"The receipt for your gear" Natasha said entering the office handing a sheet of paper to Sam.

"Bird costume? Come on" Sam said exasperated.

"I didn't write it" she assured turning off the restriction on the audio of Bucky's evaluation.

"I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James" The evaluator continued.

"My name is Bucky"

"Why would the Task Force release this photo to begin with?" Shepard asked.

"Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" she replied.

"Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier"

"You're saying someone framed him to find him?"

"Commander, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing" Sam pointed out.

"He didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads"

"Yeah, but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him. It guarantees that we would" Natasha concluded.

"That's what concerns me"

"You think someone in the Task Force planned the bombing and framed him?"

"Or maybe someone infiltrated the Task Force without being noticed"

"Tell me, Bucky. You've seen a great deal, haven't you?"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"You fear that... if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop, Don't worry" The evaluator gets a message on his phone that he glances at for a moment "We only have to talk about the one"

The lights all go out moments later in the bunker "Great. Come on, guys, get me eyes on Barnes. Go" Ross ordered his men.

"Friday, get me the source of that outage" Tony said getting on the defensive.

"Sub-level 5, east wing" Natasha said watching Sam and Shepard bolt towards Bucky's cell room. T'Challa took notice.

Arriving outside the chamber. Red emergency lights flash all around. There are many agents slumped on the floor.

"Help me. Help" The evaluator called from inside the chamber.

Shepard finds him in a heap inside "Get up" he ordered sternly grabbing him and shoving him against the wall "Who are you? What do you want?"

"To see an empire fall"

As Sam enters Bucky swings his fist which smashes through the wall as Sam ducks. Bucky grabs him by the jaw and throws him at the open pod. Shepard lurches into the fight and lands a punch which Bucky barely feels. Bucky kicks and punches Shepard out of the chamber. A punch from Bucky goes through the elevator door. Shepard blocks the next one but the power of Bucky's fist sends Shepard tumbling into the darkened elevator shaft.

Sam watches the man looking down the elevator shaft "Hey!" he calls out rising to his feet. He bolts causing Sam to chase after him.

"Evac all civilians. Get me a perimeter around the building, and gunships in the air" Ross ordered.

"Please tell me you brought a suit" Natasha said to Tony.

"Sure did. It's a lovely Ton Ford, three-piece, two-button. I'm an active-duty non-combatant" he replied sarcastically.

"Follow me" Sharon says walking past the two.

Bucky stalks the ground floor beating down two guards. Tony puts on some type of tech-glasses and takes cover behind a pillar.

"We're in position" Natasha reports over the radio.

Tony taps a wrist-control which becomes his Ironman-glove. He zaps Bucky with a stun-burst before Bucky can shoot a guard. Tony rushes him, firing again. Bucky ducks the blast then trades blows with Tony, firing the gun. Tony has the Ironman-glove over the barrel, blocking the bullet. He pulls the gun barrel loose then Bucky smacks him backwards.

Sharon rushes Bucky, then Natasha rushes Bucky. They both land kicks and punches, then Bucky flips Sharon head over heels. She smashes onto a table then Natasha leaps on Bucky, legs around his neck. He slams her onto another table and grabs her throat.

"You could at least recognize me"

T'Challa comes from nowhere and kicks Bucky off Natasha. He fights with Bucky, landing lightning fast kicks and some punches. Bucky gets a counter punch in and T'Challa falls, but quickly recovers. Bucky hurries up some stairs.

T'Challa leaps the levels and vaults a railing, landing in front of Bucky. Limber T'Challa spinkicks and grabs Bucky's metal arm which he tries to twist then looks worried as he realizes it isn't going to work. He throws Bucky backwards and keeps hold as they both tumble down the stairs. They resume fighting on the small landing and a leg sweep sends Bucky over the railing. T'Challa leaps down after him but finds the wide reception empty. He scans around.

Sam exits the building finding the evaluator's jacket and glasses on the ground "Damn it!"

Bucky's on the rooftop helipad. He marches up to a blue chopper and pulls the lock off the door. he gets in the pilot seat. Shepard rushes outside and sprints toward the rising chopper. He leaps and grabs the landing gear. He pulls hard and the chopper struggles to gain height. Shepard's feet kick for traction then he gets them flat on the helipad. The chopper drags him onto the weak looking mesh framing the helipad. Shepard grabs the railing with one hand and clings to the landing gear with the other. He grits his teeth and his neck strains with the incredible effort.

Bucky glowers from inside the chopper then throws the joystick left and the chopper's nose slams into the edge of the helipad. The rotor-blades are smashed to pieces and Shepard ducks as the tail swings around. The chopper lies twisted on the mesh at the edge of the pad. Shepard rises beside the canopy.

Bucky's arm smashes through the glass, growling he grabs Shepard's throat. The chopper starts to list over the edge. The tail breaks off and falls into the river below. Bucky keeps hold of Shepard as the whole vehicle drops and slams into the river. The impact knocks Bucky out cold and he lets go of Shepard. The body of the chopper sinks quickly to the riverbed along with other debris. Shepard surfaces with Bucky in his arms.

* * *

Bucky woke up in a huge abandoned warehouse with his metallic arm clamped in a huge industrial vice. Shepard walks over to join Sam sitting across from Bucky.

"Commander?"

"Shepard" Bucky said looking up at him, his eyes finally focusing.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?"

"I set up a blind date between you and Cathy, the waitress at the café across the street from you. You got a tray of food thrown on you by the waiter when he tripped over her bag"

"Can't read that in a museum"

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" Sam asked baffled.

"What did I do?" Bucky asked concerned.

"Too much" Sam answered.

"Oh, God. I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words"

"Who was he?"

"I don't know"

"People died. He bombed the UN, and set you up. The doctor did all of that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than that"

"He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where"

"Why?"

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier"

"Who are they?"

"Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in Hydra history. And that was before the serum"

"They all turn out like you?" Sam asked.

"Worse" he answered his voice filled with dread.

"Could the doctor control them?"

"I don't know, it's more likely they'll just kill him on the spot"

"He said he wanted to see an empire fall"

"They could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize, they can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming"

Sam gets up and approaches Shepard "This would've been a lot easier a week ago" he whispered.

"If we call Tony-"

"No, he wouldn't believe us"

"Even if he did-"

"Who knows if the Accords would let him help"

"We're on our own"

"Maybe not. I know a guy"

* * *

"Not sure you know the concept of getaway car" Sharon says gesturing to the battered car Shepard arrived in.

"It's low profile. I'm not trying to draw attention"

"Good, because these draw a crowd" she counters opening her trunk revealing Shepard's and Sam's gear.

"I owe you again"

"Keeping a list. You know, he kinda tried to kill me"

"Sorry. I'll put that on the list too"

Bucky sits behind Sam in the car "Can you move your seat up?"

"No"

"They're going to come look for you" Shepard warned her.

"I know" Sharon leaned in slowly towards him, Shepard took a small step back "I don't mean to be rude but I'm already in a relationship"

"Oh, um that was-"

"Nothing, I must've read the situation wrong"

"I should go" Sharon said her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Stay safe" Shepard called out as they both went to their cars "Get the bastard" she called back. Stepping into the car Bucky just looked at him like he was crazy "Shepard, you're still shrugging off girls who you should totally go for"

"I'm already-"

"How are you ever going to be happy when you're always turning down everyone before you get the chance?"

"The man is already dating someone" Sam pitched in trying to save him from a lecture.

"Oh...then...who are you dating? What's her name? How did you meet her?"

"What are you? A teenage girl?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"He has never dated anyone in all the years I have known him. I'm just interested in who finally got his attention"

"Her name is Natasha Romanoff. She's the redhead you fought with earlier"

"Oh...as if I didn't feel bad enough already"

"You didn't kill her so no hard feelings. We actually met when she was on a mission to spy on Tony for Fury back when S.H.E.I.L.D. was still around"

"We should get going" Sam noted. We need to meet them at Leipzig/Halle airport"

* * *

Shepard pulled the car into a parking space next to a grey van on the sixth floor of the parking garage.

"Commander" Clint greeted leaning against the van.

"You know I wouldn't have called If I had any other choice" Shepard apologized stepping out of the car.

"Hey man, you're doing me a favour. Besides, I owe a debt" he waved off as Wanda opened the van door.

"Thanks for having my back"

"It was time to get off my ass" Wanda replied.

"How about our other recruit?"

"He's rarin' to go. Had to put a little coffee in him, but... he should be good" Clint answered gesturing to the sleeping man in the van smacking his leg to wake him up.

"What time zone is this?" he asked groggily.

"Come on. Come on" Clint urged pulling him out of the van.

He looked up and stared in amazement as Shepard extended his hand towards him "Commander Shepard" he breathed out still shocked.

"Mr. Lang"

"It's an honor sir. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome! Commander Shepard" he looked at Wanda "I know you, too. You're great!" he turned back to Shepard "Look I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so... thanks for thinking of me" he looked towards Sam "Hey man!"

"What's up, Tic Tac?"

"Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time when I-"

"It was a great audition, but it'll... it'll never happen again"

"They tell you what we're up against?" Shepard asked.

"Something about some... psycho-assassins?"

"We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man"

"Yeah, well, what else is new?"

"We should get moving" Bucky said looking at the airport.

"We got a chopper line up" Clint assured.

"They're evacuating the airport" Bucky noted.

"Stark" Sam concluded.

"Stark?" Scott asked confused.

"Suit up" Shepard ordered.

* * *

Shepard and the others run towards the helicopter hoping to leave before the others arrive. Something lands onto the chopper disabling it. Iron Man and War Machine land in front on them.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this"

T'Challa jumps over a truck landing near them "Commander"

"Your highness"

"Anyways. Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?" Tony continued.

"You're after the wrong guy"

"Your judgement is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday"

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't"

"John" Natasha said sternly grabbing his attention "You know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?"

"All right, I've run out of patience. Underoos!" Tony yelled. Spider-Man leaps overhead shooting a web taking the sword off Shepard's back and binding his hands.

"Nice job kid" Tony says smirking under his mask.

"Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit... well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's-it's perfect. Thank you"

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation"

"Okay. Commander. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man"

"Pleasure" Shepard said using a small blade to cut through the webbing whilst they were talking.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just-"

"Hey, everyone" Peter said waving to the others.

"Good job" Tony said sarcastically.

"You've been busy" Shepard directed to Tony.

"And you've been a complete idiot! Dragging in Clint. Rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.

"Then let us do this"

"Alright, we're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys with no compunction about being impolite. Come on"

"Found it. Quinjet's in hanger five, north runway" Sam radioed to Shepard.

"Alright, Lang" Shepard says ripping the webbing in half.

"Hey, guys, something-" Peter tried to warn before being kicked in the face by Scott.

"Whoa. What-what the hell was that?" Rhodes asked confused.

Scott hands the sheath back to Shepard "I believe this is yours, Commander Shepard"

"Oh, great. Alright there's two on the parking deck. One of them is Maximoff, I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Shepard?"

"Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes" Rhodes notifies.

"Barnes is mine!" T'Challa yells running towards them.

Shepard hits Rhodey with his staff's shield then turns and bolts after T'Challa.

"Hey, Mr. Stark, what should I do?" Peter asked.

"What we discussed. Keep your distance. Web 'em up"

"Okay, Copy that!"

Shepard bashes T'Challa with the right side of his staff knocking him over, rolling out of it Shepard grabs him and throws him over his shoulder.

"Move, Commander. I wont ask a second time" Jumping he spinkicks at Shepard who blocks them with his staff.

"Look, I really don't want to hurt you" Scott says as Natasha approaches.

"I wouldn't stress about it"

Natasha kicks him in the groin and grabs his arm twisting it. He shrinks throwing her head over heels onto her back the pulls her arm behind her back. She zaps him with her widow's bite slamming him into a nearby truck leaving a small dent.

Peter lands on the glass of the terminal "What the hell is that?" Bucky asked confused.

"Everyone has a gimmick now" Sam replies.

Breaking through the glass he knocks Sam over then blocks a punch from Bucky's metallic hand "You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude!" Peter says just before Sam flies into him.

Peter begins punching him while hanging onto Sam "You have the right to remain silent!"

Tony fires missiles around Clint and Wanda causing them to stop. Shepard switches his staff for his sword to block T'Challa's claws. sidestepping left the ducking to dodge another attack he gets kicked in the chest sending him onto his back.

Rhodes pulls a giant electric mace out of his back "Sorry, Commander. This won't kill you but it ain't gonna tickle either"

Shepard rolls out of the way just in time to miss the strike.

Tony hovered in front of Clint and Wanda with his repulsor trained on them "Wanda, I think you hurt Vision's feelings"

"You locked me in my room"

"Okay. First, that's an exaggeration. Second, I did it to protect you. Hey, Clint"

"Hey, man"

"Clearly, retirement doesn't suit you. You got tired of shooting golf?"

"Well, I played 18, I shot 18. Just can't seem to miss" Clint finishes firing an arrow at Tony which he deflects.

"First time for everything"

"Made you look" Wanda throws all the cars in the parking garage down on Tony burying him under their weight.

"Multiple contusions detected" Friday reported.

"Ya, I detected that too"

"Peter swings through the rafters in the terminal, chasing Sam who flies backwards firing shots. Peter stops on a high beam "Oh, god" he ducks avoiding the object Bucky threw "Hey buddy, I think you lost this!" he yells throwing it back.

Sam kicks him off the beam, Peter shoots a web on his pack making the wings retract and crash through a kiosk then fired two more as he stood up trapping his arms on the glass balcony.

"Those wings carbon fiber?"

"Is this stuff coming out of you?" Sam asked disgusted.

"That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ratio, which, gotta say, that's awesome, man"

"I don't know if you've been in a fight before but there's usually not this much talking"

"Alright sorry my bad" He swings down and Bucky jumps in the way. Bucky and Sam fall through the glass down onto the next floor and traps them with his webs.

"Guys, look. I'd love to keep this up but I've only got one job here today and I gotta impress Mr. Stark, so, lm really sorry-" Redwing drags him through the glass wall.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Bucky asked annoyed.

"I hate you" Sam says exhausted.

Rhodes flies towards Shepard who kicks him down onto the floor breaking his mace. Then turns to lean back avoiding T'Challa's claws kicking him in the chest sending him reeling back.

"Great" Rhodes sighs tossing it down.

"Hey, Shepard, heads up!" Scott yells tossing him a miniature truck "Throw it at this" he says showing him a small disk "Now!" he throws it the truck enlarges and tumbles towards Rhodes hitting him directly. T'Challa and Natasha dive out of the way as it explodes.

"Oh, man. I thought it was a water truck" Scott says earning a look of annoyance from Shepard "Uh... sorry" he apologizes as they run off.

"Alright. Now, I'm pissed" Rhodes said standing up. Tony arrives and helps Natasha to her feet.

"Is this, part of the plan?" she asked annoyed.

"Well, my plan was to go easy on them. You wanna switch it up?"

Shepard and his team run towards the quinjet "There's our ride" Clint says pointing.

"Come on!" Shepard yells over to Bucky and Sam.

Vision shoots a beam in front of them causing them to stop.

"Commander Shepard. I know what you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now"

Tony and his team arrive next to him.

"What do we do, Commander?" Sam asked nervous.

"Push through" he sighs.

"This is gonna end well" Natasha says sarcastically as they begin marching towards each other.

"They're not stopping" Peter noted.

"Neither are we" Tony says breaking into a sprint.

Steve blocks a punch as Iron Man lands. Clint fires an arrow at Vision. War Machine flies after Falcon and Bucky trades blows with T'Challa. An explosive arrow hits Iron Man. Natasha throws Scott, as Peter swings through the air, struggling to evade vehicles projected by Wanda. Bucky lands punches on T'Challa. Shepard draws his pistol whipping Tony with it, touching a knob on the side he fires an electric pulse at him causing Tony to momentarily stumble. Peter kicks Shepard in the back swinging on a web.

Clint and Natasha battle with batons. Clint pins her down with his bow.

"We're still friends, right?" Natasha asked.

"Depends on how hard you hit me" he counters.

She spins him with her legs. As she's about to kick his head, her foot stops and glows bright red. Wanda throws her into a vehicle. Natasha sat there in too much pain to get up.

"You were pulling your punches" Wanda notes. Clint nods sheepishly.

Bucky and T'Challa have each other by the throat "I didn't kill your father"

"Then why did you run?" T'Challa pulls Bucky's hand off his neck, then spins him and fly-kicks him backwards. He sprouts claws and aims for Bucky's neck, but Wanda stops his hand, then waves her arms and sends T'Challa crashing into a passenger gangway.

Shepard throws a knife cutting the web Peter was swinging on "Look kid. There's a lot going on here that you don't understand"

"Mr. Stark said you'd say that. Wow" Peter webs his left arm and right ankle pulling him towards him and kicking him into a wall "He also said to go for your legs" He added with a chuckle.

Shepard stood up and ran for his sword on the ground but got stopped by Peter grabbing both of his arms with his webs. Shepard spins and somersaults in the air, propelling Peter through the air.

"Clint, can you get him off me?" Sam asked avoiding blasts from Tony.

"Buckled in?" he asks Scott.

"Ya. No, I'm good. I'm good, Arrow Guy. Let's go. Let's go!" he says as a miniature form on the head of the arrow. Firing it the arrow splits with Tony shooting the shards while Scott infiltrated the suit at the shoulder joint.

Shepard catches a web with his sword and tugs Peter towards him, close-lining him. Peter recovers and jumps onto the gangway's roof.

"Stark tell you anything else?"

"That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you dangerous" Peter swings down and fires a web at his face. Sidestepping it he leaps and kicks him back into the gangway's leg.

"Guess he had a point" Using his sword he cut the leg causing it to fall onto Peter who caught it struggling to hold it up.

"You've got heart, kid. Where're you from?"

"Queens"

"Brooklyn" Shepard says back with a small smile.

Tony's repulsor malfunctions while firing at Clint "Friday?"

"We have some weapon systems offline"

"They what?"

"Oh, you're gonna have to take this into the shop" Scott called out from inside his suit"

"Who's speaking?" Tony asked annoyed.

"It's your conscience. We don't talk a lot these days"

"Friday?"

"Deploying fire suppression system"

"Uh-oh. Oh boy" Scott said running away from the cloud of Carbon Dioxide "Woah!" he yelled being thrown from the suit.

"We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now" Bucky said looking as Shepard.

"We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision. You get to the jet"

"No, you get to the jet! Both of you! The rest of us aren't getting out of here" Sam yelled back over the radio while being chased by Rhodes.

"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it" Clint noted.

"This isn't the real fight, Commander" Sam implored.

"Alright, Sam. What's the play?"

"We need a diversion, something big"

"I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half... don't come back for me" Scott reported.

"He's gonna tear himself in half?" Bucky asked confused.

"You sure about this Scott?" Shepard asked concerned.

"I do it all the time. I mean once... in a lab. Then I passed out. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the BOSS!" he yelled leaping from mobile stairs and lands on War Machine's back as he flies past. He operates his suit's wrist, shuts his eyes and activates a remote. Scott grows into a towering Behemoth and grabs War Machine's leg.

"Holy Shit!" Peter yelled.

"Okay, tiny dude is big now. He's big now" Rhodes said trying to get out of his grip.

"I guess that's the signal" Shepard said as he and Bucky started running.

"Way to go, Tic Tac!" Sam yelled through laughter.

"Give me back my Rhodey" Tony says as Sam flies feet first into him.

"I got him!" Peter yells grabbing him with a web and pulling hard as he crashes into a truck he plants his feet firmly on the truck stopping him before he hit the plain.

Scott kicks a bus towards T'Challa. Vision descends and braces himself, splitting the bus in two and protecting T'Challa from harm. T'Challa spots Shepard and Bucky sprinting past. Chasing Sam Iron Man evades Scott swinging the wing of a plane at him.

"Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose, I'm open to suggestions" Tony urged.

Sam arrows towards Tony firing Redwing which cracks into his helmet. Scott blocks T'Challa's path.

"You wanna get to them, you gotta go through me"

You wanna get to them... you gotta go through me. [He sweeps his gigantic foot through the crates T'Challa's standing on, smashing them to pieces. Scott is engulfed in explosions as War Machine swoops towards him with Peter clinging to a web stuck to War Machine's back. He fires more webs and wraps them around Scott's outsized arms.

Clint fires arrows at T'Challa who catches two right in front of his face. After the arrowheads explode he drops them and rises extending his claws.

"We haven't met yet" He flattens his bow and spins it around "I'm Clint"

"I don't care" Wielding the bow like a staff Clint attacks T'Challa who a acrobatically ducks then counters with a high kick.

Scott punches War Machine in the air and swings a gangway towards him as he recovers. War Machine opens fire and the gangway disintegrates. Scott tries to stamp on War Machine who dives clear evading a lunge of Scott's hand. War Machine is struck by something Wanda throws at him.

Wanda waves her hands flinging vehicles around at Rhodes.

"Get off" Scott says to Peter not noticing Vision curl into a ball and ramming into him.

T'Challa cuts Clint's bow in half then runs towards the hanger. Vision spots Shepard and Bucky running towards the hanger. He floats through Scott's chest.

"Something just flew in me!"

Vision fires a laser cutting a tower at the base causing it to fall in front of the hanger. Wanda holds it in the air. Rhodes fires sonic waves at her causing her to cover her ears in pain. Shepard and Bucky barely made it through before it collapsed.

Natasha was waiting for them in the hanger "You're not gonna stop"

"You know I can't"

"I know I'm gonna regret this" she says lifting her wrist up and stunning T'Challa who arrived behind them "Go" she said as they turned to see who she shot.

"I love you" Shepard said running past her. Natasha sighed deeply stunning T'Challa again with a small smile on her take off with T'Challa trying to grab onto the jet but failing to keep a grip.

"I said I'd help you find him, not catch him. There's a difference"

Rhodes takes off after the jet. Vision fires at Sam who is chasing after Rhodes but missies and hits Rhodes power core causing him to go into freefall.

"Rhodey!" Tony yelled as he and Sam dive after him.

"Tony, I'm flying dead stick" he said before passing out.

"Rhodes!"

Wanda holds her hand out trying to stop him while Vision flies as fast as he can to try and get to him. Rhodes starts glowing red and slows enough that the impact isn't critical.

"Read Vitals" Tony said reaching him.

"Heartbeat detected. No injuries detected, emergency medical is on its way"

"I'm sorry" Sam says landing. Tony zaps him with a blast of energy.

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" Bucky asks concerned.

"I'll deal with it"

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Shepard"

"What you did all those years wasn't you. You didn't have a choice"

"I know. But I did it"

* * *

"How did this happen?" Tony asked Vision.

"I became distracted"

"I didn't think that was possible"

"Neither did I"

Tony leaves and spots an equally concerned Natasha.

"The doctors say he's gonna be fine, he was lucky Wanda caught him when she did"

"John's not going to stop. If you don't either, Rhodey's going to be the best case scenario"

"You let them go, Nat"

"We played this wrong"

"We? Boy, it must be hard to shake the whole double agent thing, huh? It sticks in the DNA"

"Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one goddamn second?"

"T'Challa told Ross what you did. They're coming for you"

"You going to arrest me?"

"No, I'm letting you go. Just... be careful alright"

"I'm not the one who needs to watch their back" Natasha ends turning to leave.

"Priority upload from Berlin police, sir" Friday announced showing him an image of a report. Tony stares thoughtfully at it for a short period "Fire up the chopper"

* * *

"The Task Force called for a psychiatrist as soon as Barnes was captured. The UN dispatched Dr. Theo Broussard from Geneva within the hour. He was met by this man" Friday told showing a picture of the psychiatrist who escaped the compound.

"Did you run facial recognition?"

"What do I look like?"

"Uh, I don't know. I've been picturing a red head"

"You must be thinking of someone else"

"Must be"

"The fake doctor is actually Colonel Helmut Zemo, Sokovian Intelligence. Zemo ran Echo Skorpion, a Sokovian covert kill squad"

"So, what happened to the real Broussard?"

"He was found dead in a Berlin hotel room. Where police also found a wig and facial prosthesis approximating the appearance of one James Buchanan Barnes"

"Son of a bitch. Get this to Ross"

"Yes, Boss"


	18. An Empire Falls

**Final chapter of the Civil War Arc. I hope you have enjoyed it thus far. I know some of you have complained about me copying the same lines Cap has in the movies. That hasn't changed much obviously. Everything after this chapter will just be freehand. Hopefully you like it just as much as we work our way up to the Infinity War Arc.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen: An Empire Falls**

"This is the Raft Prison Control. You're clear for landing Mr. Stark" a guard announced over the radio. Tony's helicopter landed on the helipad as the storm picks up.

Tony enters the facility his arm in a sling he approaches Ross "So? You got the files? Let's reroute satellites, start facial scanning for this Zemo guy"

"You seriously think I'm gonna listen to you after that fiasco in Leipzig? You're lucky you're not in one of these cells"

Looking at the screen Tony saw Wanda sitting hunched and bedraggled in a cramped prison cell. He enters the room where they are all being held.

Clint is clapping as he approaches "The Futurist, gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not" he taunted.

"Give me a break, Barton. I had no idea they'd put you here. Come on"

Clint spits at him "Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony"

"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey. You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for-"

"Criminals? Criminals, Tony. Think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to mean me. Or Sam, or Wanda. But here we are"

"Because you broke the law"

"Yeah"

"I didn't make you"

"La, la, la, la ,la-"

"You read it, you broke it"

"La, la, la, la, la-"

"Alright, you're all grown up, you got a wife and kids. I don't understand, why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?"

"You gotta watch your back with this guy" Clint taunted "There's a chance he'll break it"

"Hank Pym always said, you never can trust a Stark" Scott said leering at him.

"Who are you?" Tony taunted.

"Come on man"

"How's Rhodes?" Sam asked.

"They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow. They have been saying he's gonna make a full recovery and should be able to fly again in a few months"

Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

"What do you need? They feed you yet?"

"You're the good cop now?"

"I'm just the guy who needs to know where Shepard went"

"Well, you better go get a bad cop, because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me"

"Oh, I just knocked the 'A' out of 'AV'. We got about 30 seconds before they realize it's not their equipment"

"What did you do? Get it back up!" Ross yelled in anger.

"Just look. Because that is the fellow who was supposed to interrogate Barnes" Tony shows him a holographic image of Doctor Broussard "Clearly, I made a mistake. Sam, I was wrong"

"That's a first"

"Shepard is definitely off the reservation but he's about to need all the help he can get. We don't know each other very well. You don't have to-"

"Hey, it's alright" Sam sighs deeply shaking his head "Look, I'll tell you... but you have to go alone and as a friend"

"Easy" Tony said smirking.

Walking back to his chopper Ross stopped him "Stark? Did he give you anything on Shepard?"

"Nope. Told me to go to hell. I'm going back to the compound instead, but you can call me anytime. I'll put you on hold, I like to watch the line blink" Tony smiles at Ross who just glares at him as the doors shut and it takes off.

Tony takes the sling off and extends his injured hand wrapping himself in his Iron-Man suit, a hatch opens and he flies out of the chopper, speeding through dark clouds. Close behind T'Challa flies a quinjet.

* * *

Shepard lands the quinjet beside Zemo's truck on the remote icy mountain. Bucky pulls out a rack of guns labeled 'Romanoff'. He takes a light machine gun smiling lightly thinking about her and Shepard together. Moving to stand next to him at the exit he looked towards the snowy mountain before them.

"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?"

"Was that the time I spent our train money to buy hot dogs?"

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead"

"What was her name again?"

"Dolores. You called her Dot"

"She's gotta be a hundred years old right now"

"So are you, pal" Shepard laughed clamping a hand onto his shoulder.

"Still young enough to kick your ass, old man" he added with a smirk.

Shepard chuckled placing his helmet on he approached the entrance noticing it still open.

"He can't have been here more than a few hours"

"Long enough to wake them up"

Shepard leads them into the cast bunker. They travel down into the depths inside a caged elevator. it stops in the bowls of the bunker, doors slide open. Shepard nods to Bucky and heaves up the cage door. Bucky ready's his heavy duty machine gun and they walk along a corridor, keeping close to a wall. bucky looks into an alcove full of junk then he and Shepard move on up some stairs. At the sound of a loud thud they spun around, aiming down the corridor.

"You ready?"

"Yeah"

Forcing the doors apart Tony looks at them watching Shepard's eye showed shock. Walking towards them his helmet retracted.

"You seem a little defensive"

"It's been a long day" Shepard answered lowering his weapon while Bucky kept it level.

"At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you"

"Then why are you here?" Shepard asked.

"Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself"

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork" he smirked extending his hand towards him "It's good to see you, Tony"

"You too, Shepard" he shook his hand looking over at Bucky "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop-"

Shepard signs Bucky to lower his weapon. Bucky lowered it still looking defensive.

The three of them cautiously walk along the corridor with T'Challa hiding around a corner watching them. Entering an enormous chamber with capsules standing in it.

"I got heat signatures" Tony said scanning the room.

"How many?"

"Uh, one"

The lights come on at that moment with a hazy, yellow mist descending from within the capsules. each one contains an enhanced soldier from the 1991 experiment. Shepard and the others look around bewildered.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?" Zemo announced as they noticed the bullet holes in each of their heads.

"What the hell?" Bucky asked confused.

"I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here" Zemo appears in the control room, Shepard fired a few rounds leaving no mark on the glass "Please, Commander. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets"

"I'm betting I could beat that" Tony smirked.

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came"

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Shepard asked. T'Challa entered the room hiding in the shadows.

"I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you"

"You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?"

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because I made a promise"

"You lost someone?"

"I lost everyone. And so will you" he plays surveillance footage from December 16th 1991. Shepard looks to the screen "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumples from within? That's dead...forever"

Footage of The Winter Soldier force a car off the road parking next to it after it crashed. The driver fell out and crawled towards him "Help my wife. Please. Help" he pleaded looking up showing it to be Howard Stark.

The Winter Soldier lifted him up by his hair looking at his bloody face, Howard stares back pleadingly "Sergeant Barnes?" he asked surprised.

Bucky starts beating Howard's face in as Maria screamed "Howard! Howard!"

Bucky walks over to Maria and snaps her neck proceeding to take a case from the trunk the shooting the surveillance camera. Tony turns lunging at Bucky as Shepard steps between them.

"Tony. Tony"

Consumed with grief and tears glistening in his eyes he looked Shepard in the eye "Did you know"

"I didn't know it was him"

"Don't bullshit me, John! Did you know?"

Shepard remained silent for a moment "Yes"

Tony takes a step back reengages his helmet and punches him to the floor deflecting gunfire from Bucky, disarming him. he grabs Bucky and flies across the chamber. He slams him onto the floor, then jumps on his arm.

Shepard rams him with his shoulder knocking him back, Tony shoulders him to the floor and shackles his ankles. Bucky punches Iron Man who just lifts him and slams him against a machine. Iron Man raises a fist but Bucky twists it. A rocket shoots out of Iron Man's arm, causing an explosion.

Shepard slices his shackles with his sword as a towering structure of pipework collapses. Tony and Bucky are thrown down a level as twisted metal falls around them, showering sparks.

"Get out of here!" Shepard yelled to Bucky, he bolts as Tony fires at him, missing the shot. Landing in front of him he pins Tony to the wall with his staff as Bucky opens the silo-styled door overhead with a control panel.

"It wasn't him, Tony! Hydra had control of his mind!"

"Move!" Tony yelled knocking his staff away from him.

"It wasn't him!" Shepard gabbed his ankle as he took off twisting some of the armor. Tony blocks him by shooting down rubble, then falteringly flies up the tower.

"Left boot jet failing. Flight systems compromised" Friday notified.

"Ah, crap" Above him Bucky leaps from platform to platform. With stuttering jets Iron Man gives chase, then kicks Bucky down on his back and takes aim. Shepard blocks the energy bolt with his sword deflecting it back at Tony dropping him like a stone onto a lower platform.

"He's not going to stop. Go!" he ordered.

Shepard leaps and shoots a wire from his grapple gun, wrapping it around Tony's neck pulling him back down as he flew upward. Using a thin laser he cuts the wire and takes aim.

"Targeting system's knackered, boss"

"I'm eyeballing it"

His helmet retracts and he shuts one eye, taking aim at the opening hatch. He fires and hits the giant hinge which explodes, cutting of Bucky's escape route. He flies up, blocks two swings from an iron pipe from Bucky, then grabs him around the neck from behind.

"Do you even remember them?"

"I remember all of them"

Bucky pushes them both from the walkway, Shepard jumps into them to deflect their fall. Bucky lands on a platform while Tony and Shepard land on the concrete floor besides opening in the wall where snow drifts in from outside.

"This isn't going to change what happened"

"I don't care. He killed my mom"

Shepard kicks him in the chest sending Tony back a few steps, following up with multiple punches to his abdomen. Tony head-butts him sending him reeling backwards. Unsheathing his sword once more, he swings for his shoulder only to be deflected with a repulsor blast sending it flying through the air. Tony grabs Shepard by the throat pinning him to the ground. Bucky leaps down to help, picking up Shepard's sword as he charged Tony, knocking him off of Shepard. As the two super soldiers fist fight with Tony the sword changes hands between them until Tony manages to zap Shepard who is thrown back into the wall.

Bucky struggles to hold Tony at bay as he unleashes an energy beam, then he forces Tony against the opposite wall and grips the glowing core in the chest of the Iron Man Suit. A blast of energy knocks Bucky down, metal arm completely blown away. Tony zaps him again. Shepard rushes him with his sword up in defense and Iron Man fires right at it.

Outside Zemo listens to a voice message from his wife "You should've seen his little face. Just try, okay? I'm going to bed. I love you"

T'Challa approaches him from behind "I almost killed the wrong man"

"Hardly an innocent one"

"This is all you wanted? To see them rip each other apart"

Zemo deletes the voice message "My father lived outside the city. I thought we would be safe there. My son was excited. He could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife, "Don't worry. They are fighting in the city. We're miles from harm." When the dust cleared... and the screaming stopped. It took me two days until I found their bodies. My father... still holding my wife and son in his arms. And the Avengers? They went home. I knew I couldn't kill them. More powerful men than me have tried. But, if I could get them to kill each other... I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man. With a dutiful son"

"Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them" he blinks ruefully and retracts his claws in his gloves "I am done letting it consume me. Justice will come soon enough"

Zemo smiles thinly "Tell that to the dead" he pulled a gun and pointed it at himself firing. T'Challa grabs him just as it fires blocking it with his hand "The living are not done with you yet"

Shepard continues to block or dodge his blasts countering with powerful blows to Tony's head and abdomen.

"You can't beat him hand to hand" Friday warned.

"Analyze his fight pattern"

"Scanning!" Tony's interface flashes red as Shepard lands blow after blow "Countermeasures ready"

He grabs his sword mid-swing "Let's kick his ass" He flings the sword away then zaps Steve backwards, head over heels. Shepard rises and Tony blocks his punch zapping him to his knees in front of Bucky who's lying one his back.

"He's my friend" Shepard pleaded.

"So was I" He pushes Shepard then throws him back at the gaps in the wall "Stay down. Final warning"

Shepard struggles to his feet, his face bloody. He raises his fists and stares Tony down "I can do this all day"

Tony raises his left palm ready to fire. Bucky grabs his leg and Tony spins, kicking him in the face. Shepard charges Tony, punching him left and right, then switching mid-swing changing his attack pattern continuously.

"I can't analyze his attack pattern! He's too unpredictable!" Friday warned frantically.

"He keeps changing it up after a few punches" Tony concluded unable to keep up with his ferocious attacks.

Shepard grabs Tony and lifts him over his head, then throws him down, punches him and bashes his mask off with his fist before unsheathing his sword and stabbing the suit's core with his blade stopping just above a lethal strike. Tony looks horrified and glowers fearfully at Shepard who pants for breath. Both have blood spattered across their faces.

Shepard looks back at Tony then shuts his eyes and slumps down. The blade remains upright, stuck fast in the center of the Iron Man Suit. When Shepard struggles up again he takes hold of the blade, gripping the hilt and pulling it free. He steps away from Tony who rolls painfully onto his side. Bucky lies bloodied but conscious, Shepard reaches out and pulls him to his feet, holding him up as Tony looks on.

"That sword doesn't belong to you" Shepard turns his back "You don't deserve it. My father made that sword!" Shepard stops, raises his chin, then stabs the Sword in the ground and walks away with Bucky's arm around his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Tony" he says back turning to exit the room.

* * *

Ross stares at Zemo contained in a prison pod, his ankles cuffed to his seat "Meals at eight and five. Toilet privileges twice a day. Raise you voice, zap. Touch the glass, zap. You step out of line you deal with me. Please, step out of line" he pauses briefly "So how does it feel? To spend all that time, all that effort...and, to see it fail so spectacularly?"

Zemo looks up to meet his gaze "Did it?"

* * *

Tony is standing next to Rhodes as he tentatively walks beside parallel bars.

"It's just the first pass"

"Yeah"

"Give me some feedback. Anything you can think of. Shock absorption. Lateral movement. Cup holder?" Tony said watching Rhodes physical therapy for his leg injuries.

"You may wanna think about some AC down in-" he falls onto his hands.

"Let's go. I'll give you a hand" Tony said holding a hand out to him.

"No, no, don't. Don't help me. Don't help me" he stands back up walking again "138. 138 combat missions. That's how many I've flown, Tony. Every one of them could've been my last, but I flew 'em. Because the fight needed to be fought. It's the same with these Accords. I signed because it was the right thing to do. And, yeah, this sucks. This is... a bad beat. But it hasn't changed my mind. I don't think" he said giving Tony a crooked smile.

"You okay?"

"Oh yeah" Rhodes answered letting go of the bar and walking a few feet before stopping momentarily and turning around. A FedEx driver approached the door knocking with a packet in his hand "Are you Tony Stank?" he asked.

"Yes! This is-this is Tony 'Stank'. You're in the right place. Thank you for that! I'm never dropping that, by the way. Table for one, Mr. Stank. Please, by the bathroom" Rhodes joked walking back the opposite direction of Tony.

Walking into another room Tony opens the package finding a note "Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own for a very long time. Never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faiths in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought that by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you. But I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should"

"Priority call from Secretary Ross. There's been a breach at the raft prison" Friday announced.

"Yeah put him through"

"Tony, we have a problem"

"Ah, please hold"

"No. Don't-" Tony pressed a button on the phone cutting him off.

Reading the rest of the note he read "No matter what. I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, I'll be there"

* * *

"You sure about this?" Shepard asked Bucky.

"I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing, for everybody" Bucky said as he was put back into cryo.

T'Challa enters the room "Your friend and my father, they were both victims. If I can help on of them find peace-"

"You know, if they find out he's here... they'll come for him"

"Let them try" T'Challa said with a cocky grin.

"I have something I have to do"

"You may bring them here if you wish. They will receive the best care we can provide"

"Thank you that's very kind" Shepard said walking out of the room

* * *

Shepard enters the holding cells the rest of the Avengers are being held in "Time to get you guys out of lockup" he said unlocking the doors.

"Knew you wouldn't leave us behind, Commander" Clint said smirking.

"Thank you" Wanda added as he helped her out.

"I can't believe you just broke in here!" Scott yelled excitedly "That's awesome!"

"Where's Tony? And Barnes?" Sam asked curiously.

"Tony's back at the compound helping Rhodes through his physical therapy for the next month. Bucky is in cryo in Wakanda. T'Challa has offered us all a safe place there while we sort this out and get Hydra's mind control crap out of him"

"Where's Nat?" Clint asked concerned "She broke the law when she helped you escape"

"I don't know. All I know is she has gone into hiding"

"Then no one will ever find her" Clint smirked.

"I'm counting on it"


	19. Aftermath

**Hey there! I am glad you are all enjoying this as much as I am. Hopefully that continues as we go along. I will be releasing these more weekly than daily as I had been previously. I need more time to write these now with all my time being taken up by other projects. Thank you all for your understanding. If you have any pointers or suggestions please lay them on me. I love being able to incorporate your ideas into the story if they work well.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: Aftermath**

Clint, Sam, Wanda, and Scott sat in the mess hall where T'Challa provided for them to stay they were talking and laughing amongst themselves telling stories with the Wakanda soldiers excited to be able to talk with the Avengers. Shepard stood in the doorway leaning against it with a picture of Natasha on his phone.

 _I can't keep this up forever, they deserve to see their families_ he thought to himself remorsefully.

"Something on your mind, Commander?" T'Challa asked entering the room.

"Your highness. My apologies. I was just thinking they deserve better. They're not criminals, they have families and friends back at home"

"And you want them to be happy?"

"Yes, this mess they're in is my fault"

"No, it's Zemo's and the governments of the world. They were labeled as criminals by the very people they were fighting to save"

"Not anymore" Shepard answered entering the room finally.

"Commander!" Clint said seeing him enter "How's your morning treating you?"

"I've had better Clint"

"What's up?"

"It's been two months since any of you have seen your families. That's on me-"

"We knew the risks when we signed up to help you" Sam argued.

"That may be. But I cannot allow it to continue"

"What do you plan to do?" Scott asked interested.

"I'm going to turn myself in"

Wanda stood from the table abruptly "You can't do that! They could give you the death penalty"

"I would take it a hundred times over if it means you can all return to normal lives"

"Our lives have never been normal, Shepard" Clint said with a smirk "Life just gets weirder every year"

"I've made up my mind about this. I'm turning myself in to Ross tonight" he said standing to leave.

"Wait" T'Challa said causing him to stop "If you are really going through with this. Then let me just say, it's been an honor, Commander" he said extending his hand to him.

Accepting it with a thin smile on his face "Thank you, your highness"

"T'Challa, please" he insisted.

Sam stood up and grabbed him into a one armed hug "Good luck, man"

"I'll be careful"

Shaking hands with Scott and Clint "It's been an honor knowing you, sir" Scott said with a sullen tone "What he said" Clint added.

Wanda grabbed him into a hug on the verge of tears "I'm sorry for all of this. If I hadn't-"

"None of this was your fault, Wanda. I know your still learning how to fully control your powers, but one day I know you'll be an even greater Avenger than any one of us ever could be"

Separating she smiled lightly up at him planting a small kiss on his cheek "Do what you have to"

* * *

"Never thought you'd just hand yourself over" Ross said standing at the helipad he told Shepard to meet him at with several armed guards.

"Those really aren't necessary" he said gesturing to the men.

"You can never be too careful"

"Fair enough. I didn't come here just to turn myself in. I want to speak with the UN Panel placed in charge of the Accords"

"And what makes you think I'll grant that?"

"Because if you don't you know I can easily escape and you'll never find me once I'm gone"

Ross scowled at that but nodded his head "Fine, I'll arrange something for you" he said opening the helicopter door. Turning to his men he pointed back at Shepard. One of them approached with handcuffs, as Shepard held his arms out waiting.

Entering the chopper he looked Ross in the eye "You better come through on your end"

"I will. I know what happens to people that cross you"

* * *

Shepard sat down in the chair provided for him with screens in front of him with each of the panel members on them.

"Thank you all for making the time for me today"

"When Commander Shepard asks you to hear him out. It's usually a good idea to do so" one of them said with a small smile.

"What did you call us here for?"

"I'd like to clear up some recent events regarding the Accords"

"You mean when you broke them?"

"I never signed them. Nor anyone of the members of my team who helped me"

"They're all criminals now just like you"

"Come on, Councilor Jalta. You and I both know you just dislike Shepard for operating in your country as much as he did while taking down Hydra. Let's hear him out first before we argue semantics"

"Thank you, sir. My team and I were after Helmut Zemo who is now in prison as we believed he was trying to get his hands on several Hydra super soldiers similar to Bucky Barnes even going as far as to frame him for bombing the UN to get five minutes with him. Since non of us had signed the Accords none of my team should be prosecuted for doing so. I believe the Accords could do a lot of good for the Avengers, just not in it's current form"

"What are you suggesting?"

"I propose, that we amend the Accords for emergency situations. If such a situation occurs that an alien invasion was occurring and we had to wait for you to clear us to help it might already be too late"

"So you're saying there should be contingencies?"

"Exactly, the Avengers need to be able to help people. It's impossible for us to do that with a panel who could tell us we can't help or perhaps even forcing us to do something we don't believe we should"

"Are you implying-"

"Councilor, I'm implying nothing I am stating that people have their own agendas and one of the members of the panel could use us to see that agenda fulfilled. I am asking that the Accords be amended for the UN to oversee all operations but if there is an emergency that the Avengers can provide aid without the panels permission. If the panel later decides that what we did was somehow unethical then we should be held responsible afterwards"

"You have put a great deal of thought into this, Commander"

"Well, I've had two months to think about it"

"I believe we should take a vote on the matter" the eldest one said "All in favor of amending the Accords" he said raising his own hand and being followed by three others, then four. Five. Half of the panel voted in its favor while the others voted to have it remain. Councilor Jalta was the only one yet to vote.

"Councilor Jalta. We your vote will decide this matter" Councilor Bakarn said with a sigh.

He sat silently in thought weighing his options "Then let it be known that the Accords shall be amended" he said with a thin smile.

"Thank you all for doing this" Shepard said breathing a sigh of relief.

"There is still the matter of your team members being criminals. I believe that isn't our decision to make seeing as they are citizens of the United States. Wanda Maximoff's case shall be brought before-"

"I would like to bring her case before the President if you would allow me"

A long silence sat over them as they whispered to each other before all nodding to Bakarn "I believe that can be arranged"

"Thank you, councilors. I am greatly in your debt"

"You have saved the world from destruction or worse on multiple occasions. I believe we can call it even" Jalta said winking.

"Thank you, sir"

* * *

"You think I am going to allow you into the same room as the president?" Ross laughed hysterically "You must be the maddest son of a-" his phone began ringing "We will continue this later"

He walked out of the room answering the phone. Shepard sat quietly with guards on every side of him. One of them passed him a picture of him and his family "Could I have your autograph, sir? My son would be thrilled" he asked quietly.

Shepard smiled brightly "I'd love to" he said accepting it and the pen signing it.

"Thank you, sir" he said saluting him before returning to his spot.

"Would anyone else like one while we wait?" he asked getting instant answers from the others handing him things to sign.

Ross entered the room again to see Shepard signing a picture and handing it back to a soldier "What the hell is this!?" he demanded.

"Sir!" he said saluting.

"I'LL HAVE YOUR-"

"Oh shut up" Shepard spoke up.

"Excuse me?"

"These men are in charge of keeping me in place and I'm not going anywhere so just lay the hell off before I decide to beat you down"

"Hmph. We have somewhere to be Shepard. It appears the President wants to speak with you"

* * *

Being pulled along by the secret service with him in multiple different cuffs to stop him from escaping he was sat down across from the President in the oval office.

"Commander Shepard, It's good to see you again" he said with a smile "Take those off of him would you Mike?"

"Sir, Secretary Ross-"

"Isn't here right now. So please take those off of him" He followed his orders taking them all off leaving his hands free "You may leave us" he said gesturing to them.

"But sir-"

"I'll be fine Mike"

Sighing deeply he signed for them to leave "We'll be just outside, sir"

"Thank you" Standing her extended his hand to Shepard "It's an honor, sir"

"I should be saying that" he countered shaking his hand.

"I'm not the one who took a group of misfits into an alien invasion and came out on top with a team of super heroes"

"Perhaps not"

Sitting back down he gestured for him to do the same "I heard you wanted to talk to me"

"From who?"

"Colonel Rhodes"

"How is he?"

"He's out of physical therapy and test flying the new suit Stark made for him. He's doing well but will not be going on any missions for a few more weeks"

"Glad to hear it"

"I imagine you're here about your team members that have been labeled as criminals"

"Indeed"

"I can personally guarantee that Mr. Barton, Wilson, and Lang will be pardoned for their part in aiding you"

"What about Wanda and Bucky?"

"Ms. Maximoff is out of my hands and Mr. Barnes is a known terrorist"

"I have evidence that shows he was being controlled by Hydra"

"If that's true I can have the FBI look into it and see if its plausible. If this can be proven then I will see Barnes is seen as a victim and not a terrorist. The man deserves our respect. He's a hero for his contribution in the second world war"

"Thank you"

"Do you happen to have this evidence?"

"No, a friend does"

"I promise you I will not lay a hand on your friend if they can prove that Barnes is innocent"

"T'Challa's top scientist have been working on it for the past two months"

"So you've been hiding out in Wakanda? Smart, that's the last place we'd think to look"

"Exactly"

"That just leaves Ms. Maximoff. Even if she was a citizen I couldn't help her because of what she did in Nigeria"

"What if I had video proof that Wanda wasn't responsible for what happened in Lagos?"

"Then we'd be able to make a move. If you could prove that, then she could seek asylum here and I'd even help her along to a citizenship"

"Thank you, Mr. President. There is one more thing"

"What is it?"

"Natasha Romanoff"

"Now that's a different case altogether. She broke the law by letting you go and impeding T'Challa from capturing you. On the other hand she was there for New York and Washington, even Sokovia. And countless other missions while she worked for SHIELD I think she deserves a medal. But I don't know if I'll be able to-"

"Let me serve her sentence"

"You? Why?"

"I refuse to allow her to suffer for my decisions. The only reason she let me go is because she believed I was doing the right thing"

"I'll make a public statement about all of this once we have received the evidence on Mr. Barnes and Ms. Maximoff. I will allow you to serve Romanoff's sentence until I can get that blown over. Until then you'll just have to wait"

"Thank you, sir" standing he shook the President's hand "I owe you one"

"No you don't I owe you for what you did with Stark and Rhodes during the whole Mandarin fiasco. Consider this my way of saying thank you"

* * *

Tony sat in the lounge of the compound with Rhodes flipping through the channels "You're almost there"

"I know. Just a few more test flights and I am ready for action!" Rhodes said excitedly.

"Mr. Stark. Colonel Rhodes. Mind if I join you?" Vision asked entering the room.

"Not at all. Pop a squat"

Stopping on the news they saw the President giving a speech "Woah what's this?" Rhodes asked.

"And that is why I am granting amnesty to Clint Barton, Scott Lang, and Sam Wilson for their part in helping Commander Shepard three months ago. I am also granting citizenship to Wanda Maximoff for her heroic actions in Sokovia and Nigeria based on proof provided of the bomb that went off in Lagos was actually the work of Brock Rumlow a Hydra terrorist known as Crossbones. Lastly we received evidence from Wakandan King T'Challa of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes being controlled by Hydra and forced to be the Winter Soldier committing countless horrendous acts such as assassination and terrorism, including the tragic deaths of Howard and Maria Stark. On a final note Commander Shepard has turned himself in to serve the sentence of Ms. Natasha Romanoff. If you are watching this Ms. Romanoff. You no longer have to hide in the shadows you can take your place in the Avengers back. Thank you all for coming and God bless America"

Tony and Rhodes were shocked "That means everyone can come back" Rhodes said happily.

"As long as they sign the newly amended Accords" Vision added.

"What?" Tony asked confused.

"Just yesterday the UN panel released a statement that they amended the Accords based upon some issues brought to light on the original by a national hero Commander Shepard"

"So you're telling me that Shepard is in jail right now serving a sentence for a crime he didn't commit and got the Accords amended and everyone else pardoned for what happened?"

"Correct"

"The man has pull. I'll give him that" Rhodes said with a smirk.

"That's an understatement"

"So what's the deal with Peter?" Did he agree to join the Avengers?"

"No, actually. He said he wanted to finish high school and just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. My words by the way"

"You did good, Tony"

"Yeah...I have to go"

"Where to?"

"The Raft"

* * *

Shepard sat in a large transparent cell suspended thirty feet off the ground over an empty chasm with a long thin hallway leading to the door with camera's at every corner of the room. Tony walked down the long hallway with Ross close behind. He couldn't hear what they were saying but it looked like they were arguing.

"I don't care Stark. You're the one who let them go in the first place"

"They've been pardoned Ross. Doing anything to them would be treason and I doubt you want to do that"

"Tony. What do I owe the pleasure of having you visit my humble abode?"

"How about an apology" he answered opening the cell door.

"From me or you?"

"Funny. Do you do stand up now? Look... I want to apologize for what I did in Siberia. I shouldn't have tried to kill Barnes"

"You're right, you shouldn't have. Just like I shouldn't have kept what happened to your parents from you"

"Yeah, well... nobody's perfect. What are you doing in here?"

"Serving Natasha's sentence so she doesn't have to"

"..."

"Is there something else you wanted?"

"Why? Why put yourself on the line like this? You could've been shot the instant Ross saw you. They could've done even worse to the others Wanda and Clint-"

"Because I'm the one responsible for them and I couldn't keep them separated from the families and loved ones"

"But you can separate yourself from yours? You said we all need family"

"And knowing mine is safe is the best feeling in the world"

"..."

"I know this is hard for you-"

"Shepard!" Natasha yelled entering the cell with Ross running trying to keep up "You can't go in-"

"What the hell are you doing! First you run off after Zemo and almost get yourself and Tony killed and then you turn yourself in and rot in jail for what I did!? What the hell did you think you were doing? Did you think that I was going to be happy with this? Did you-"

"Natasha-"

"No! You are gonna listen to me this time! I have put up with a lot of your decisions that I didn't always agree with but I trusted you so I went along with it. But I am not going to let you rot in here while I'm out there. I'd rather be locked up with you"

Tony stood up pulling Ross out of the room "We should give them some privacy"

"If you think I'm-"

"C'mon Ross you've been in love before leave them be"

Once they left the room Natasha grabbed Shepard into a hug "Why would you do this? I need you"

"Because I needed to know that you would be safe while I was in here. I knew I wouldn't have any contact with the outside world once I was in here"

"You're always being so damn reckless"

"It's who I am"

"I know... I love you John"

"I love you too Natasha" they shared a brief kiss before separating "Please take care of Tony and the others while I'm gone"

"I will... How long do you think you'll be in here"

"Until the next crisis. I did sign the Accords after all" he answered with a smirk.

"I'll just tell Tony to build another killer robot or perhaps find another alien army to invade us shall I?" she countered winking at him.

"Stay safe"

"You know me, that's never going to happen" she said turning on her heel to leave.

* * *

In an unknown location deep within a fortified structure a figure sits quietly in a chair watching a brightly lit screen displaying information on the Avengers including Bucky and T'Challa. Another enters the room.

"Everything is in place" came the synthetic voice.

"Then we are ready?"

"Yes. The master's plan has already been set in motion Asgard will not know what hit them"

"Excellent. Then we should begin our part as well"

"He's not going to be easy to reach you know"

"I'm aware of that. He will come to us when we have set our plan in motion. In fact this world couldn't afford to keep him out of it"

"And once we have him"

"Yes, you will be able to take your revenge. Just make sure I get what I want out of him first"

"Understood. Then we must ensure we get the stone"

"The master will kill us if we don't"

"When do we begin?"

"Soon. Have your troops prepared to strike when I am ready"

"Of course" the figure with the synthetic voice left.

The screen pushed all the other files to the left and right enlarging the two files on Vision and Shepard "The time has finally come" the figure said laughing as he did.


	20. Warden Of The Void

**Quick warning before you read this chapter. I borrowed from the Arkham Knight video game for this chapter as it worked very well for what I was trying to do. These could be considered spoilers, and the next chapter will have one or two as well. If you haven't played or are in the process of playing that game, and don't want any spoilers. I don't recommend reading this chapter and the following one until you have. Thank you for your patience.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty: Warden Of The Void**

One year later

Shepard sat in his cell waiting for his meal to arrive. They were surprisingly late today, that usually only happened when someone was visiting.

 _Must be Natasha, She's always visiting when she isn't on missions with the team_

Secretary Ross walked down the long hallway and opened his cell door glaring at him as he stepped inside "Commander Shepard"

"What did I do to warrant you visiting little old me?"

"You signed the Accords a year ago and so far the UN has neglected to send you anywhere with the other Avengers"

"And? You disapprove?"

"Of what I'm about to tell you, yes. The President of the United States has requested the UN allow you to take point on this mission and they've agreed"

Natasha walked down the long hallway with Coulson and Tony in tow stopping inside the entrance to the cell "These three will be escorting you to your transport. One step out of line and I will shoot you myself"

"Understood"

Ross sneered before turning to leave "Keep a short leash on him" he said as he exited the cell.

"I never would've thought to see the three of you together in my cell. What's the situation?"

"We'll explain on the chopper" Natasha said turning to leave "We have your gear aboard" Tony informed following suit.

* * *

"What's so important that you bust me out of there after almost a year of no activity?" Shepard asked as the chopper took off.

"Doesn't look like you've had a problem keeping in shape" Coulson said gesturing to his physique.

"Not much else to do in there"

"The city of Chicago is under lockdown" Natasha cut in.

"Why?"

Coulson handed him a pad with a video playing on it. Surveillance footage from inside a mall started playing. A man stood still in the center for only one most of it before suddenly exploding. The camera, barely working caught the same man coming back together as if nothing happened.a figure with a black hood over his face and a small black mask covered just around his mouth appeared on screen moments after.

"People of Chicago. This demonstration took only one Inhuman, I have an army waiting to be used when I give them the order. This is your only warning. You must leave the city within the next two days or my army will gun you down the second they see you. If your military attempts to retake the city or destroy it, I will detonate a bomb with a biological toxin inside that will spread all the way along the east coast. The only ones who should be entering the city are my men or The Avengers which by all means I welcome the challenge of you trying to stop me. Just don't make it too easy"

"This has been playing on repeat all over the news for the past two days and finally stopped this morning. Tony said he needed you and the President agreed" Coulson informed.

"Why is SHIELD involved? I thought you were trying to keep a lid on your organization still being around"

"Because this is the perfect way to show the world that SHIELD is on their side"

"Do we know who's behind the mask?"

"No, he has to be an Inhuman though. He seems to have the ability to control them at will"

"How do you know?"

"Daisy Johnson, one of my agents, you met her when her name was still Skye. She left SHIELD recently but we found out she was forced to join him later on instead of helping people like she had been. The news has been calling her Quake"

"And this is how we know he has some type of mind control?"

"Not mind control, it only affects Inhumans. Which is why a Helicarrier is going to be on standby above the city with pods that can capture Inhumans. None of those people fighting for him have a choice"

"Just like Bucky"

"Funny you should mention him. Hydra troops invaded the city this morning killing anyone who stayed behind" Tony added.

"This guy is Hydra?"

"Yes, the only person I can think of being behind this attack is dead so I'm at a loss" Coulson said dejectedly.

"Are you sure he's dead?"

"Yes he was in a quinjet that went into space with a nuke on it. My agent Lincoln Campbell was on board with him"

"I'm sorry to hear that"

"It's in the past nothing we can do about it now. The thing is that's the only person who had the ability to control other Inhumans. All Inhuman abilities are supposed to be completely unique"

"Who was he and what do we know about him?"

"His name was Alveus. We knew him as Hive, he used to be a Mayan hunter before the Kree created him by splicing their blood with his making him the first Inhuman"

"Kree? Like the people who made me?"

"Exactly"

"What do you mean made you?" Tony asked confused.

"I wasn't born like you or Natasha. I was created in a lab by the Kree. They made me to destroy what they called the Titans. I don't know what they are or who the Kree are but they are giant blue aliens and they are the reason I was immortal. Something nearly untraceable they put in my blood that lasts 1000 years give or take"

"And you never told me?"

"We didn't know for very long before the whole Accords incident" Natasha answered.

"You knew?"

"I was there when he found out. The Kree made him to hunt down Inhumans and then be their ultimate weapon against the Titans, which we currently still don't know who or what they are"

"What else do you know about Hive?" Shepard asked.

"Only that he was eventually exiled to a far off planet and his followers became what we know as Hydra they always sacrificed someone to some monolith that transported them to another planet where Hive would possess their bodies and obtain any memories or abilities they had"

"So he was Hydra's god?"

"Up until Red Skull took over yes, even then he still was just secretly"

"How did he get back to Earth if he was trapped on another planet?"

"Grant Ward one of the SHIELD agents that was secretly working for Hydra went into the monolith and found him allowing him to take over his body he was able to escape with me and Fitz who was trying to save someone who helped save Simmons from being trapped on the planet beforehand. Too late we found out Hive had infested his body before he was able to escape"

"Is possession his only ability?" Shepard asked deep in thought.

"No, he can regenerate very quickly from almost any damage he sustains. He can also kill regular humans in an instant with the same ability that allows him to take control of other Inhumans. If this guy is somehow Hive, you should stick to long range. He's got extensive combat training and experience thanks to Grant Ward's memories"

"Is the rest of the team coming for this mission?"

"They're already on route. We'll meet them inside the City and get a plan of action. First priority is to take down the guy on the big screen and capture as many Inhumans as we can to make sure they can't harm anyone including themselves"

"Understood, time to gear up"

* * *

"We have a quinjet and a helicopter coming into the city, sir" came across the radio.

"Let them pass. We don't want to kill the target before we have the chance to enact out plan" answered a synthetic voice.

"Yes, sir!"

"Hail Hydra"

"They have arrived then?" the figure asked the one synthetic voice.

"Yes, soon we shall have what we are after"

"Excellent. Let us bait the trap"

"I'll get right on it"

* * *

Landing they all stepped out with their gear.

"What's the play, Commander?" Tony asked stepping outside.

"First we need to do some recon. We can't do anything until we know what we are dealing with. Sam and Vision, I need you in the air as discreetly as possible find out what kind of force we are dealing with here. Natasha, I need you to hack into communications. Wanda, anyone we see try looking into their minds and finding out what they know. Scott, shrink down and sabotage any vehicles they have so they can't fire at us. Tony and Rhodes, I need you as my heavy hitters, if you see anything to big for us to take down you handle it. Clint I need you watching our back making sure we don't get snuck up on"

Tony was receiving a call "It's Pepper"

"Be quick"

"Pepper, I'm really glad to hear from you but-"

"Hello, Stark" came the voice from the hooded figure.

"Who is this? Where is Pepper?"

"All in due time. Open your mask so the whole team can hear me"

"Tony?" Shepard asked concerned.

Tony opened his mask "It's open"

"Welcome Avengers, I have been anticipating your arrival. So glad you accepted my invitation"

"Tell us what you want" Shepard demanded.

"Well that's a rather complicated question. I'll just start from the beginning. I have Ms. Potts right here up on the roof of the Stark industries that's undergoing some construction. I want Mr. Stark and Commander Shepard to meet me there. Come alone and use the elevator or I put a bullet in her head"

"Tony! Don't do it! It's a trap-" Pepper yelled into the phone.

"Muzzle her"

"I swear to god I'm gonna-"

"Meet my demands or meet her lifeless corpse. Your call Mr. Stark" he finished hanging up.

"Commander?" Sam asked.

Shepard sighed deeply "We stick to the same plan. Tony, you and me are going to get Pepper back safe"

"Yes, sir" they all answered.

* * *

"This is the place" Shepard said as they approached the building entrance.

Tony silently walked into the building not paying attention to him. Entering the elevator he pressed the top floor button as Shepard stepped inside.

"Tony, I'm sorry about what happened in Siberia-"

"Don't. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one that should be apologizing to you and to Barnes for what happened"

"If this is my last job with you before I go back in, or I die today. I just wanna say... It's been an honor working with you"

"You see a lot of things in this job. A lot of pain. A lot of suffering. But I'll never forget the vision Wanda gave me. Because I'm scared of it actually coming true"

"It won't. No matter how tough the enemy is... if we work together we can take 'em down"

"We're the same, you and me. We'll do anything for our family"

"Damn right"

The elevator arrived at the top floor "C'mon let's do this"

Shepard pulled out his rifle aiming it at the man in the hood as Tony pointed his hand at him "On your knees. Now!" Shepard demanded.

"I'm so glad you arrived now we can finally get down to business" he said turning around.

"I'm not asking again" he said venomously.

"And I wasn't talking to you"

Tony pointed his arm at Shepard "Tony?"

"I'm sorry, Shepard. He said he'd kill her if I didn't bring you here"

"Bring her out" he ordered as three armed men cam out with Pepper's arms tied behind her back "Tony!"

"Pepper. Did he hurt you?"

"What are you doing?"

"Call in the transport we're leaving"

"Yes, sir"

"It's time I finally got what I wanted. You, Shepard. I will take you for myself and claim your immortality as my own" he said pulling the hood down and taking off the mask.

"What are you?" he asked upon seeing his face. It was a pale almost purple color with tentacles coming off of his head like hair.

"SHIELD knows my as Hive but my name is Alveus. I was what the Kree created you to destroy. I have lived for a long time off of the bodies of others"

"Let her go!"

"You both still have a part to play"

"We had a deal" Tony insisted pointing his hand at him. A large man came up behind him threateningly.

"Think very carefully about your next move, Stark. Her life depends on it"

Tony turned and blasted Shepard off the roof.

"No!" Pepper yelled.

The large man grabbed Tony forcing his arms behind his back and to his knees.

Tony struggled harshly to get out of his grip to no avail "Did you think I wanted him dead!? Did you think that would save her life!?" he yelled in anger.

"Pepper!"

"Do you know what happens to people who defy me?"

"No take me! I'm the one you want! Not her! Take me!"

"You must suffer for your defiance!" he yelled grabbing her by the throat and holding her over the edge of the building.

"I'm not scared of you" Pepper choked out defiantly.

"You should be" he answers back letting her go. Pepper gasped for air as she fell to her death. Shepard swung in with his grappling hook and grabbed her turning on his back to break her fall. He propped her up against the entrance to the building.

"I thought Tony killed you"

Shepard pointed to the scorch mark on his armor "He knew what he was doing. The armor is thickest around my chest"

"What about Tony?"

"We'll get him back. Rhodes, Sam, talk to me"

"He's gone, one of those guys can teleport" Rhodes answered.

"Natasha, start tracking Tony's suit signature"

"On it...he's at an old chemical plant at the edge of town"

"I'm on my way now, meet me there. Coulson I need you to get Pepper back to safety"

"You got it"

* * *

Shepard arrived just outside the large bridge connecting to the chemical plant. Approaching the others he looked at Sam "This is where Tony's being held?"

"Natasha said the signal of his suit was coming from here but that the signal dropped as soon as we arrived"

"Where is she?"

"She's set up in the quinjet using it's connection to hack into Hydra's communications. Clint stayed with her to make sure they weren't caught by surprise" Scott informed.

"What's the situation of the facility?"

"It's in lockdown. No way in unless you can fly those giant doors lead to the courtyard" Vision answered.

"If Tony's still alive, I'll find him. He should be able to tell us what Hive is up to-" Shepard began as a large helicopter hovered over the right side of the bridge. Firing two missiles it blew up the bridge connected to the large gate.

"What the hell?" Rhodes said preparing to fire.

The chopper hovered in front of them firing rounds forcing them to take cover, Shepard walked slowly towards the helicopter as it stopped firing. The chopper hovered for a moment it's weapons trained on him but didn't fire. Rising above the gate it flew inside.

"Why didn't he shoot at you?" Sam asked confused.

"I'm going to find out. Rhodes I need you to scan the facility"

"You got it"

Shepard used his grappling hook to get himself on top of the gate looking around he saw Hydra soldiers rushing into a military transport chopper.

"Natasha, he's assembled an army. Who's in charge of these guys? Hive doesn't seem like much of a military strategist"

"I've got nothing on the troops they just came out of nowhere, most of these guys were just construction workers or cops. They had everyday jobs until tonight they revealed themselves as Hydra. I've got a name for who's leading them. The Warden Of The Void"

"That's a strange name. Rhodes have you found anything?"

"The facility is mostly empty. Hive appears to be deep inside. No one else is in there with him. All the troops appear to be leaving. I think I've found Tony. He's being held Southside of the facility in a small building with several guards"

"I'm on it. Sam, Vision, and Scott. I need you to take down any security you see and find us a way inside to Hive. Rhodes stay in the air in case anyone needs backup. Wanda, you and I are going after Tony"

"Right" they all answered in unison.

* * *

Approaching the back wall of the building, Shepard scanned it with his interface "Five guards all armed. One hostage. This is going to be easy"

"What's the plan?"

"When I give the word. Tear the wall off. I'll jump inside and grab their attention while you cover my back"

"Got it"

"Okay...Now!"

Wanda threw the wall into the water surrounding them. Shepard jumped in shooting the two on the right, he grabbed the one in front of him head-butting him to the floor. Wanda came inside next and threw both of the remaining guards into each other.

"Excellent work"

"Yes, truly spectacular. Can you get me out of this now please?" Tony asked chained to a pipe without his suit. Entering through the door leading to the room with Wanda in tow he broke the chains holding him.

"Thanks. Is Pepper safe?"

"She's out of the city"

"Thank god" he breathed a sigh of relief.

Eight Hydra guards broke through the glass roof in the other room all training their guns in their direction. Shepard stepped in front of Tony. A rope came down into the room as a man in completely jet black armor came down it. His synthetic voice laughed upon seeing them.

"Keep your guns trained on him. If he even looks like he's planning to leave that room, open fire on him. Oh and ignore his chest. That's a trick where his armor is strongest. Aim for the weak points at the shoulders first then coordinate fire at the points where the plates meet.

"How does he know that?" Tony asked confused.

"You say something?" the man asked pointing a pistol at Tony.

"Leave him out of it"

"Always protecting the weak and the helpless. That's what I like about you, predictable. That's why we are going to win today. We know your move before you do. We know how you think!" he yelled pushing his hands against the glass for a moment.

"Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

He laughed as he walked back to the center of the room "Of course I do. You're thinking. Who the hell is this guy?"

"No, I'm just trying to figure out which one of you to take out first"

"Just so we are on the same page here, I fully intend to kill you. But first we are going to make you suffer" he said pointing to Shepard. Turning he placed two fingers to the side of his helmet "We have the target. Just say the word and he's dead. We will have won"

Shepard whispered so no one could hear him "Rhodes, I need backup. Now"

"On my way"

"You don't understand! There are no second chances with this guy!

Rhodes landed at the opening firing at the Hydra guards. The Warden grabbed the rope as it pulled him out of the ceiling.

Firing at the remaining guards they all were taken down "You guys alright?"

"We are fine. Thanks, Colonel"

"Anytime. Let me get Tony out of here"

"Do it. Get one of your backup suits"

"I will. Get this bastard" Tony said grabbing onto Rhodes as they flew out.

* * *

"Scott have you guys found?"

"The facility is completely clear. But we have a problem"

"What is it?"

"He's made some type of bomb in the mixing chamber. It's set to go off soon. If it does the entire east coast will be covered with whatever gas he's using"

"He needed access to this plant. It's the only place with the equipment to make a bomb of this size"

"The fallouts going to be huge"

"We played right into his hands. He didn't care if everyone evacuated"

"He knew no one would be able to escape the blast radius"

"I'm going to stop him. I'm heading inside now meet me there"

"On it"

* * *

Inside the plant. Scott, Sam, and Vision arrived with Shepard at the mixing chamber.

"I don't like this" Sam said looking around.

"The whole place has been empty but he's still inside" Shepard said watching Hive's shadow through the tinted glass.

"I know you're out there, Avengers. I also know now that your immortality has been lost to you based upon some files The Warden got me from SHIELD Director Phil Coulson. You will not be leaving this facility"

Suddenly the teleporting Inhuman appeared in front of them. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes with a black heart tattooed on her left arm.

"Hello" came her greeting as she vanished she appeared again grabbing Scott and Sam by the shoulders and vanishing again to appear next to Vision and grabbing him next before vanishing again.

"Sam, report. What just happened?"

"I don't know, Commander. But we are too far away from the chemicals plant to be of any help now. You're on your on right now"

"The door is open Commander Shepard. Please, come in"

Approaching the door cautiously. He pressed the button on the side sliding the door open.

"Do you really think you've won?" he asked turning around slowly "You're fear makes you predictable, Commander. I am in complete control"

Shepard grabbed him by the throat and slammed his head down next to the console "How do I shut it down?"

"Let me go. Or she dies" Lifting him up he held him in the air by his throat.

"What are you talking about?"

"Natasha Romanoff" he choked out.

Shepard threw him to the ground then placed two fingers to his helmet "Natasha!"

"Have you found him?"

"Get out of there! Now!"

"Why? What's going-" the connection cut off.

"Clint! Are you there?" nothing.

"I'm on my way, Shepard" Rhodes notified flying towards their location.

Turning Shepard saw Hive standing outside the room as the door began closing. Running he attempted to stop the door but failed.

"Nothing hurts more than losing the one you love. Knowing there is no one to blame but yourself" he said as the teleporter returned teleporting them both out of the facility.

Shepard turned around and looked at the console "Tony"

"I heard what that maniac said to you. I've been trying to contact Nat. Unfortunately with no success"

"Keep trying"

"Warning: Explosion imminent" said the PA system

he began typing furiously on the keyboard "Preparing neutralizing agent"

"What are you doing?! It's too late! You can't stop it!"

"I know. I'm not trying to stop it. But I can reduce the blast radius"

"And what will happen to you?"

"That doesn't matter. Find her, Tony"

"Neutralizing agent deployed" reported the PA as four canisters emerged into the chamber.

"Shepard, I beg you to reconsider, evacuate now! If you're caught in the blast you'll die!"

"There's no other way, Tony"

"There's always a way. Please"

Placing the canister into the system it began mixing with the bomb chemicals "Neutralizing agent deployed. Blast radius reduced by 25%"

Shepard turned to grab another canister "Where is she, Tony?"

"I have no idea"

"It's my fault"

"She was aware of the risks. She'll be as angry as you are that she allowed herself be caught in this situation"

Shepard removed the canister and walked over to its place.

"Listen to me! Don't you see? This is what he wants, without you. We will be at his mercy. You cannot let him win!"

Placing the canister into the system "Neutralizing agent deployed. Blast radius reduced by 50%"

"I'm monitoring the facility. You're out of time. I'm begging you. Leave now"

"It's what I learned from you, Tony. Do the right thing. That's all that matters"

"Dammit, John! You must get out of there. If this is about Natasha, you cannot blame yourself for what's happened. Save yourself before it's too late!"

"Goodbye, Tony" he said cutting off the connection.

"Neutralizing agent deployed. Blast radius increased by 1000%"

Picking up the final canister he walked it to its place and mixed it with the remaining chemicals effectively reducing the blast radius as much as possible. Shepard fell down from exhaustion and lack of oxygen. Laying there he accepted his impending death and awaited the explosion. Thinking back on his life that lead up to this point.

Suddenly the glass on the east side of the chamber shattered. Bucky stepped inside picking him up slinging his arm over his shoulder he walked Shepard out towards a vehicle T'Challa was waiting in his Black Panther suit.

"Bucky? What are you doing here?" he choked out.

"Saving you from the looks of it"

"Warning: Explosion imminent"

"Hurry!" yelled T'Challa helping Shepard into the car as Bucky jumped into the driver seat, T'Challa hopped into the back. Bucky floored it ramming the car through a mostly broken wall leading through to the courtyard, driving over the small ramp by the exit to the plant he drove over it sending them flying over the gap in the bridge. Driving over the bridge as it collapsed behind them.

"Shepard!" Tony yelled seeing them come out with Bucky and T'Challa.

Tony stopped abruptly upon seeing Bucky "Barnes"

"Stark"

"That Hydra crap gone?"

"After a whole year of being in stasis. Yes. It is gone"

"I see you have a new arm again"

"T'Challa was kind enough to rebuild it with Vibranium from his private reserves"

"You killed my parents"

"I know. I'm sorry-"

"But you also just saved Shepard. He is one of the most important people in the world to me. Thank you" he said extending his hand towards him. Bucky stared in surprise before smiling lightly, and accepting his hand.

"Someone had to pull this idiot's ass out of the fire" Bucky said causing them all to laugh.


	21. Faces Of The Past

**This is the second chapter with possible spoilers from Arkham Knight. If you don't want, then don't read. Otherwise go right ahead.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-one: Faces Of The Past**

"We have to stop Hive" Shepard said as everyone arrived at the quinjet finding a bruised Clint and Natasha missing.

"But what about, this Warden? He's got an army and missiles and who knows what else" Rhodes said.

"I know. I don't know who he is, but he seems to know me. A lot more than most people should. I had Coulson check all unaccounted Hydra members from when SHIELD collapsed. None of them match the description. Wherever Hive goes, The Warden seems to be with him. We find Hive, we find him. First priority is to find Natasha and get her out. Tony, did you find anything out while you were captured?"

"Yes, they've been moving their troops through the metro tunnels. They created their own tunnels somehow leading to the Oscorp building"

"That must be where they're keeping Natasha"

"There's no way to reach it without using the tunnels. They've got the rooftops littered with traps for us"

"Then that's where we are going"

"That has to be a trap" Scott concluded.

"it is. I'm going to spring it. I'll need the rest of you ready topside to engage them so they don't notice my infiltration. Scott, Bucky, and Clint will be going in with me while the rest of you are distracting them. If any of the Inhumans come into the fight, incapacitate. Don't kill them"

"Sounds like a plan" Clint said standing up.

"We know they want us dead, so lets make them think they're getting what they want. Don't push yourselves too hard. You're just a distraction for now"

"We'll get the job done" Tony said as his new suit arrived.

"Let's get this done"

* * *

Entering the tunnels they found them to be almost completely empty "We're in position, Tony"

"We are ready to move, on your go"

"Alright, keep their attention on you for as long as you can, as soon as we find Natasha we will be joining the fight"

"Let's go" Tony said to the others as they charged the forces guarding the tower.

Shepard and Bucky went first with their rifles drawn, Clint brought up the rear with Scott.

"Looks like he was right" said a loud voice, drawing their attention. They looked at a large man with a buzz cut and a cleft chin and brown eyes.

"Boss said you'd come from here. Looks like I get to have some fun now" he said cracking his knuckles.

"He's an Inhuman" Clint said "I recognize him from the files Natasha brought up while you were in the chemical plant"

"I can take him" Bucky said stepping ahead of them "You guys need to get Natasha and stop Hive. I'll keep him busy"

"Are you sure you can handle him?"

"I know I can"

"Be careful not to take a direct hit. This guy can create explosions with his fists" Clint informed.

"Got it"

"Good luck" Shepard said leading them through the room around them.

"Not so fast-" he began to say before being punched hard in the gut by Bucky's newly constructed arm, knocking him to the floor.

"I'm you opponent. Not them"

"I'm gonna kill you for that, you scrawny punk"

"Take your best shot"

Charging Bucky he tried to grab him with both his arms. Bucky rolled out of the way and started shooting at him with his gun. The bullets were bouncing off his body instantly.

"Looks like your archer friend didn't know everything about me" he said turning to face him with a wide grin on his face. Charging again he swung his large arms at Bucky. He ducked out of the way punching him in the chin with his metal arm, causing him to stumble. Swinging his hand backwards, Bucky blocked with his metal arm as an explosion launched him into the train behind him.

"You're nothing compare to me!"

* * *

Arriving on the ground floor of the Oscorp Building they were met by a tall lanky man with short black hair and hazel-green eyes.

"Looks like bulldozer couldn't keep you away for long. Guess it's up to me then" he said upon seeing them.

"Clint?"

"This guy can become invisible on a whim, he can disappear from sight in an instant"

"Won't be a problem for me then" Scott said "I can do this, you two get going"

Shepard nodded, him and Clint went for the elevator.

"I'm not letting you go that easily" said turning to stop them he turned invisible. Scott jumped in front of them miniaturizing as he did landing on the mans shoulder just before he fully vanished. Grabbing him by the chin he threw him to the opposite end of the room.

"I didn't say you could leave yet" he taunted.

"You don't know who you're messing with, Bug-Boy"

"It's Ant-Man"

"I don't care" he said vanishing from sight.

Scott was punched several times from different directions. Becoming smaller he looked around for any indication of where he was. Noticing dust on the floor shifting he ran towards it grabbing him by his legs and slamming him onto the floor. Scott was kicked off him sending him into the wall behind him.

"You can't keep this up forever, you have to return to normal size at some point"

* * *

The elevator rose up several stories before Shepard and Clint appeared above the building suddenly "Shit!" Clint yelled firing an arrow with a tether attached to it allowing him to swing onto one of the lower floors. Shepard used the repulsors in his boots to fly into the window Clint went into "You alright, Barton?"

"Yeah"

The blonde teleporter from before appeared in front of them "You're better than I thought" she said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know her, she's able to teleport somehow"

"Anywhere I want to, as long as I can picture it in my mind"

"Well, I never miss. So let's see who is better than the other" Clint taunted firing an arrow at her. She teleported to the left "I honestly expected Mr. Obscure to stop you guys. Guess I should stop calling him that since it doesn't seem to suit him"

"Ya? Who are you supposed to be?"

"My friends call me Bolt. I suppose it'll do"

"Natasha is three floors above us. With another woman" Shepard said scanning as much as he could.

"Go. Get Nat. I can take care of speedster over here"

"You really think so?" she said appearing behind him. Clint kicked backwards as she vanished again appearing in front of them "Door is over there, Commander. I don't care if you want to try and save her on your own. You'll never get to her"

Shepard nodded to Clint before heading through the door.

"Let's get started then" Clint said firing three arrows as quickly as he could. She punched him in the gut then kicked him in the back and swept his legs out from under him, teleporting to different spots around him as she did.

"C'mon old man. Try and keep up"

* * *

Shepard slowly entered the next room with his rifle up he surveyed the room noticing it to be empty. Three gunshots rang out impacting in the floor in front of him. Turning he fired his gun once before getting shot in his shoulders weak point causing him to stumble before being punched in the face by The Warden who was hiding above the doorway.

"No, no. You're not going anywhere" he said placing his boot onto his chest "Tri-weave Vibranium coated armor plating. Nice" he said lifting his foot off him "Unless you know exactly where to shoot" he added placing the barrel of his gun where the plates meet and firing, he hit Shepard through the armor causing him to groan in pain.

"You're good, Commander. Even better than I remember. Which is going to make it even more satisfying when I kill you. Oh and Don't worry about Ms. Romanoff. I'll take good care of her" he said walking out of the room laughing as he went. "Commander Shepard is in there" he said pointing "Show him the door will you?"

Daisy Johnson walked into the room and using here powers launched him out of the window. Catching himself on the edge he swung back into the building kicking her backwards into the room.

"I'm surprised you can still stand" she said picking herself up as Shepard stood slightly hunched in pain.

"I've had worse"

* * *

Bucky pulled himself out of the train shaking off debris from his shoulders "That all you got big guy?"

"I'm just getting started!" he yelled charging again. Bucky rolled out of the way as he slammed into the train. Turning he saw an electrical circuit. Pulling a pistol out he shot it as Bulldozer tried to dislodge himself from the train he got shocked from the electricity coming through the train, knocking him out.

"Nighty, night"

Back with Scott he was trying to figure out a way to find his opponent again as he appeared to not be moving at all. Coming to a realization he started calling forth all the ants he could to him. Thousands of ants came into the room quickly running up his invisible legs. The man screamed in terror "Get them off me!" he yelled tripping and falling being completely covered by them.

Scott walked over to hid and punched him hard in the face rendering him unconscious.

"Good job guys" he said giving a thumbs up as they all quickly returned to their homes.

Clint was being hit on every side as she teleported around him constantly punching him left and right then back, then left again. Smirking he moved his head right then left avoiding her punches then stabbing an arrow into her leg from behind and slamming her head down onto the floor.

"That too fast for you?"

* * *

Shepard and Daisy were trading punches, each one blocking the other's. Daisy extended he right arm sending shockwaves at him causing him to shift to the left to avoid it. Following suit with her left arm he rolled under it and swept her legs out from under here trapping her in a headlock. Shepard choked her until she passed out. Releasing her he tied her hands and legs together so she couldn't escape.

"Shepard, the big guy is down" Bucky reported.

"Same goes for twinkle toes" Scott added.

"Excellent work. Call Coulson. We need agents down here to help cleanup this mess. Make sure he brings those pods for Inhuman extraction, I have Agent Johnson here. How you doing, Barton?"

"I'm...doing...great...girl is...down" came his exhausted reply.

"Good job. Take a minute, you sound like your about to drop. Tony, how's everything going down there?"

"Wrapping things up as we speak"

"Good. I'm heading up top after The Warden and Hive to get Natasha back"

"We'll meet you up there"

Shepard used his grappling hook to pull himself up three floors grabbing the guard closest to him and slamming him into the floor before shooting another two with his pistol and grabbing the third by the throat

"Warden! Shepard's here-" he yelled before being head-butted.

"I'm on my way Lieutenant. He's mine" he said back. Shepard quickly hid in the vent above him.

The Warden kicked the door open with several men behind him "Where'd he go?" one asked looking around.

"Raise the defense shields. Keep all access points covered so none of the others can get in"

"There's no way he got out. We had the doors and windows covered" one of them said annoyed.

"There are ways. And trust me, he knows them all"

"Perimeter clear, no sign of the target" came from the sniper outside.

"He's gone sir"

"Is he?" The Warden asked looking straight up at the vents.

"Looks like he scares easily. I was looking forward to putting a bullet in his head"

"He can take you all without even so much as a scratch. Remember that. Widen the search, he couldn't have gone far"

Shepard broke through the vent slamming one of them into the floor using his rifle he shot the sniper across the street then everyone else in the room before The Warden could turn around. Swinging his fist at him, The Warden turned quickly and blocked his strike with his right forearm. Raising his left arm he blocked another strike Shepard threw at him grabbing his arm and twisting it. Shepard grabbed him by the throat. The Warden did the same seconds later.

"Who...are...you?"

"Not yet...Commander" He placed his foot on Shepard's chest kicking him away before dropping a smoke bomb to cover his escape.

"Shepard" Tony said entering the room with the rest of the team.

"Good to see you all made it"

"What happened in here?" Wanda asked.

"This Warden seems to be able to anticipate my attacks before I make them. I don't know who he is but he holds a serious grudge against me. And he's a lot stronger than he looks"

"Then let's get Nat so we can stop tip toeing around this"

"She's in the next room, Commander" Sam said as Redwing scanned the floor.

"Then let's go" Shepard said opening the door.

Natasha sat tied to a chair bolted to the ground and chained. She had duct tape over her mouth as she kept shaking her head at them.

"Be careful" Shepard said walking ahead of them and taking the tape off of her mouth.

"It's a trap" Natasha said looking behind them.

"Turn...Around" The Warden said holding a gun to Sam's head.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"You really have no idea, do you?" he asked.

"It appears you didn't mean as much to him as you thought" Hive said entering the room.

"I guess not" he said throwing Sam onto the floor and taking his helmet off.

Shepard took a step back in shock "Schmidt?"

"At a loss for words are you?"

"I saw you. You died aboard that plain"

"No, I was transported. My master saved me. All I needed to do was get him an infinity stone. In return I get to kill you"

"Hive? Is he your master?"

"No, just another pawn. Like me, You, The Avengers. We're nothing compared to him"

"Who is he?"

"I'll never tell you. Before the war, you used to tell me if I focus enough on what I want, I'll eventually achieve it. You know what I want now?" he asked slowly approaching him with his gun pointed at him "You...dead" he said pointing the gun into his chin.

Shepard knocked it away and head-butted him. Schmidt pulled two pistols out and fired them at him. Tony broke the shackles around Natasha leaping from the chair she rushed him, kicking his weapons out of his hands. Turning to her he swung his leg towards her head. Ducking she kicked him in the knee and the chest causing him to fall to one knee. Shepard punched him in the face knocking him onto his back.

"Stop this, Schmidt! You're better than this. I've seen it in you before. You can be that again"

"Don't act like you understand!" he yelled kicking Shepard off of him.

Bucky grabbed him from behind and threw him onto his back. Tony and Rhodes blasted him with their repulsors knocking him back down as he tried to stand up. Scott was miniaturized underneath him as he fell and threw him towards Shepard. Catching him he pressed him against a wall.

"I know what it's like to lose faith in people! You can beat this, Schmidt! I know you can! Don't be what Hydra made you!"

"Stop talking to me!" he yelled placing his foot on his chest kicking him away.

Vision rammed him with his shoulder causing him to stumble. Wanda lifted him up with her powers and slammed him into the ground. T'Challa picked him up and kicked him into the air with a backflip, Sam flew into him feet first knocking him down. Schmidt rolled into the landing standing as he did. Clint fired an arrow that exploded tossing him onto his back.

"You're wrong, Shepard. I can't go back!" he yelled pulling a pistol out and pointing it at him from his spot on the ground.

"It's not too late" he said holding his arm out to him.

Schmidt looked shocked at his offer. He pointed the gun at Natasha and she didn't flinch "He's right. You could've killed me instead of capturing me. There's still some good left in you" she said holding her hand out to him as well. Schmidt had a look of confusion directed at her.

"You're not the villain you used to be" Bucky said extending his hand towards him as well. The rest of the team looked between each other for a short period before following suit.

Schmidt dropped the gun shaking his head "I...can't. I'm not like you. I'm no hero"

Hive angrily turned to him"Don't let them confuse you. You are better than this riffraff"

"No...I am not"

"Remember who you are! What you are! You are the Red Skull! The Skull waits for nothing. Do what you swore and take the vengeance you were promised!"

"The Red Skull is a monster. Just like you"

"You're weak!"

Shepard removed his helmet "I know you can be the man you were before"

"Your faith in humanity is meaningless!" Hive said pointing a gun at Shepard's head. Turning in surprise as Hive cocked the sidearm.

"No!" Natasha yelled stepping in front of him. A bullet rang out causing Hive to grab his hand in pain as he dropped the gun. Schmidt held his pistol with smoke still coming out of the barrel.

"No... I will not fail here. Not after coming so far" Hive desperately grabbed a knife from his hip and attempted to stab Shepard with his face exposed. Schmidt, grabbed his arm and his throat. Hive chuckled in amusement.

"You're not the only one here with combat training" he said kicking him away and charging Shepard again. Shepard threw his helmet at him causing him to duck to avoid it, receiving a strong kick to his face knocking him back a few steps. Quickly recovering her grabbed Shepard with his right hand and threw him behind him. Natasha swung her legs around his neck attempting to flip him over. Grabbing her arms as she did this he slammed her into the floor.

"Tony!" Shepard yelled out.

"Got it!" he yelled using a laser from his right arm and slicing Hive in half. Hive flipped himself over and grabbing his lower half, he quickly reattached himself as if it was nothing.

"You need something stronger than that! He's able to heal incredibly fast. Don't engage him in close combat either, he's got years of combat experience from previous hosts and incredible strength because of his parasites" Schmidt warned.

"Parasites?" Sam asked disgusted.

"That's why they call him Hive. His whole body is just a nest for thousands of parasites"

"Is that how he takes control of Inhumans?" Natasha asked having retreated back to the rest of them.

"Yes. He unleashes parasites that attach themselves to their nervous system. Regular people just get completely consumed by them"

"Why do our enemies have to get more disgusting every time?" Clint asked.

"Knowing my abilities won't help you. None of you could possibly defeat me"

"I'd like to test that theory" Shepard said standing up from the wall he was stuck in.

"Be my guest!" Hive yelled charging him.

Shepard jumped over him, twisting in the air he grabbed the tentacles on his head and pulled up on them swinging him over his head as he landed slamming him on the ground. Hive stood back up swinging his legs knocking Shepard onto his back. Stomping his foot towards his chest Shepard rolled backwards avoiding it.

"The Kree created us both, Shepard. We are both weapons of destruction. Nothing you do will ever change that, I was human before they changed me. You have only ever been the product of a syringe" Hive taunted slowly walking towards him.

"Your wrong about me. I have something that you never will"

"How do you figure that?" Hive asked his eyebrows furrowing.

"I have my friends at my back"

"Your friends?" Hive asked confused.

"Now!" Shepard yelled diving to his left and rolling away from Hive.

"Vision!" Wanda yelled as she threw a wave of Psionic energy at Hive, knocking him over. Vision fired an energy beam from the stone in his forehead forcing Hive to stay planted on the ground. Hive lay flat on his back groaning in pain with most of his skin missing from the blast.

"Most of the parasites were killed. We must act quickly before they regenerate" Schmidt said drawing his gun and pointing it at him.

"Schmidt, you don't need to kill him"

"If I don't then no Inhuman will ever be free of his control. This has to be done" he said firing the gun multiple times killing Hive. Holstering his weapon he turned to him "I'm sorry if you disagree, Shepard. But you will have to face opponents greater than Hive. You may not be able to win if you're not willing to kill them" he said holding both his hands out "Do what you have to do"

With a shake of his head, Shepard placed cuffs onto him and they all walked outside to find SHIELD troops clearing the city of Hydra agents and transporting Inhumans to the Helicarrier.

"Commander Shepard" Coulson greeted stepping off a quinjet with Agent May behind him "Congratulations, on a job well done. Let's get you onto the carrier so we can debrief you" he said gesturing towards the quinjet.

* * *

"Red Skull certainly wasn't who I was expecting under that mask" Coulson said as he and Shepard walked down the Helicarrier corridor.

"It certainly was a surprise" Shepard agreed.

"Well, he's in chains. All Hydra agents have been incarcerated or terminated. None of the Inhumans were killed, including agent Daisy Johnson. Thank you, by the way. We also know for sure that Hive is dead this time. Overall, the mission was a complete success"

"Indeed, I just hope we are prepared for what comes next"

"Agreed" Coulson said turning around to face him as they came to a stop "I'll let you handle his interrogation. You know him a lot better than anyone else here does" Coulson said stopping in front of the door.

"Thank you. I'll find out what he knows"

Entering the room Schmidt looked up at him ruefully before turning his gaze back to the table in front of him "Ask your questions so we can get this over with"

"Tell me what you know about the Infinity Stones" He asked taking a seat.

"There are six of them. Power, Mind, Time, Space, Reality, Soul. Each of them were locked away in some protective barrier to ensure that nothing happened to them"

"Why would your boss want them?"

"Only extremely powerful beings could even touch the stones. With something called the Infinity Gauntlet, he intends to use all of them to conquer all worlds"

"Who is he? Where are the stones hidden? Does he already posses any?"

"His name is Thanos. Those that know him refer to him as the Mad Titan. I don't know where all the stones are. I only know about the Mind Stone which sits in the forehead of your ally, and was my mission when I was sent here. As for any he possesses, He only has one currently. The Soul Stone. I know that the Tesseract houses the Space Stone and the Reality Stone was trapped in something called Aether. He is also aware of the location of the Power Stone on a planet called Xandar in the Andromeda Galaxy"

"Where is Thanos? How can I stop him?"

"Thanos is far beyond the rim of our galaxy. Stopping him will be incredibly difficult. He is already powerful enough to conquer entire systems"

"Why did you call yourself The Warden Of The Void?"

"It was a title Thanos gave me when I suddenly appeared before him many decades ago. The Tesseract teleported me with the Space Stone encased inside it and he decided I was going to help him find the Infinity Stones, in return for revenge upon you. It stuck with the troops when they first heard Hive address me as such"

"Thank you. For doing what you did today. I know it wasn't easy" Shepard said standing up from the table.

"I will spend the rest of my wretched life trying to make up for what I've done. Even if that means rotting in a jail cell. You had faith in me, when no one else did. Your team had faith in you even though they wanted me dead. I wish I inspired such loyalty myself. But I don't deserve it. You do. I know you can stop Thanos, I don't think anyone else can"

Shepard exited the room meeting Coulson outside the door "I take it you heard all of that"

"Indeed, although I honestly wish I hadn't. Some malevolent being is coming to try and conquer Earth and all of these Infinity Stones. It's not exactly good news"

"No, but now we know. We can at the very least prepare for what's coming"

"True enough. I should get back to it. I believe Stark wanted to see you when you were done with the interrogation"

"Thank you. I'll go see what he wants" Shepard said shaking his hand. Walking towards the hanger where he knew Tony would be waiting he bumped into someone coming out of the lab.

"I'm terribly sorry-" he started to apologize before seeing who it was "Daisy? I'm sorry I ran into you like that. Wasn't paying attention" he said as he helped her off the floor.

"It's no trouble. I ran into you anyway, I should've watched where I was going"

"Are you feeling alright? We fought pretty roughly earlier"

"I'm fine, or at least I will be now that Hive isn't in my head anymore"

"Something bothering you, Agent Johnson?"

"It's nothing. I was just wondering how Hive escaped the explosion in the Quinjet with Lincoln"

"I was sorry to hear about what happened to him. It's my understanding he had an Inhuman that could teleport that got him out of that particular situation. The only one we fought today actually that wasn't being controlled completely by Hive"

"That makes sense. I... I wanted to say thank you. I know you didn't have to save me when your partner was in trouble. You could've just blown me away without a second thought"

"I'd never-"

"The fact that you didn't speaks volumes about you. I can see why Coulson is such a fanboy when you show up" she added with a smirk.

"Coulson is a good man. Take care of him for me"

"I will. As long as you promise to never change from the good man you are today"

"I think I can do that"

"Good. I should go help with the disposal of Hive's body. Have to make sure he's really dead this time"

Entering the hanger he approached Tony who stood with a silver case in his hand "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, I just got a call from the President. Apparently he doesn't have your number. He would like to thank you for your courageous work today stopping Hydra"

"I suppose I can make that meeting, before I head back off to the Raft"

"There's one more thing" he said opening the case "I believe this belongs to you" he said handing him his sword back.

Shepard stared at it in surprise "Tony, I... Thank you. What made you change your mind?" he asked picking the blade up.

"I was wrong back in Siberia. I shouldn't have attacked Barnes or you for protecting him. I just wanted to thank you for stopping me from killing him. I didn't know it then, but I would've regretted that for the rest of my life"

"I'll always be here for you, Tony. I won't allow you to become who you were that day"

"That's another thing I realized. I am that person. Whether I choose to believe it or not, I knew what I was doing that day. That's why I think you should lead the Avengers again. I'm not the right man for the job"

"One problem. I am serving a prison sentence"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say I think we'll both be disappointing Secretary Ross today"

* * *

"I can't believe the President awarded you a Presidential Medal Of Freedom" Rhodes said as Shepard entered the Avengers compound.

"I'm just glad to be back home" he said looking around the place with a small smile on his face.

"I heard Ross wasn't too happy about letting you go"

"No he was not. I'm sure he'll get over it. He does have the Red Skull in custody after all" he said walking towards where he used to train.

"Shepard!" Wanda yelled seeing him from the training yard, causing the rest of them to crowd around him.

"Whoa, whoa. It's good to see you all but really It's no big deal"

"You've been gone for a year man. That's a pretty big deal" Sam said clamping his hand down on his shoulder.

"I saw the ceremony on the TV earlier. I can't believe they forced Ross to give a speech about your 'Courageous actions in Chicago" Tony laughed out.

"It's a pleasure to welcome you back, Commander" Vision said walking descending in front of him.

"Good to be back"

"Hey, old man. Nice to see your still able to walk all the way from your car without breaking a hip" Clint said slinging his bow over his shoulder.

"I'm still fast enough to keep up with you, Katniss"

"Care to test that theory?"

"Maybe later. I have someone I need some personal time with"

"Ah. Nat's up in her... I mean your room. Probably dolling herself up for your arrival"

"Thanks, Barton"

Shepard walked back inside the building walking upstairs until he entered his old room. Nothing had been changed since he had left "Natasha" he called out walking in further. The door closed behind him making him turn around quickly in surprise, Natasha stood there locking the door with her right hand.

"We have a lot of time to catch up on" she tackled him onto the bed.

* * *

"That was well worth the wait" Natasha said laying on her back.

"I love you. I missed you more than I ever thought possible while at the Raft"

"I know. I visited you every week"

"Thank you, for that. Without you I think Ross would've finally drove me insane"

"As if you weren't already?"

Shepard laughed "I suppose that's true"

"I love you too. You know that don't you?" she asked laying onto her side.

"I do"

"It wasn't easy for me watching you rot in there for something I did. Knowing I could've stopped you"

"There was nothing that was going to stop me from making sure you had the freedom you deserved. Besides, I think it worked out for the best"

"I agree. What do you plan to do now?"

"Prepare for Thanos. There's no way for us to move against him without something to travel into space with. We can't even begin to guess where the other Infinity Stones are without Thor. I think we are going to need Banner back for this too"

"I hope you leave some time in there for me with your busy schedule"

"I'll always leave time for you" he said pulling her into a passionate kiss. After several minutes they separated for air.

"What about the Avengers? We need more people if we are going to be able to take him on"

"I know. I invited T'Challa to become an Avenger. He agreed on the condition that we do not call upon him unless it's an emergency. I've also allowed Bucky a place here with us. I know that kid that Tony has been mentoring will fight with us if it comes down to it. We also have SHIELD and any of the Inhumans working with them"

"Not a bad lineup"

"We've had worse. New York for instance"

"That was a shit storm if I've ever seen one"

"I hope Thor and Banner come back soon. I know we are going to need their help if we are ever going to be able to face Thanos. According to Schmidt he's already taken hundreds of planets without the Infinity Stones. Imagine what he could do with them"

"Something else is bothering you. I can tell. Mind telling me what it is?"

Shepard sighed deeply "It's nothing important"

"You can trust me"

"I know, I just... Thanos is a Titan. He's the last surviving member of their species. The Kree made me to exterminate them. If I kill Thanos, I will have done what they built me to do"

"You're not some mindless tool that would kill him just because of what he is. If you do end up killing him. He will have brought it on himself"

"Thank you, that... really helps"

"Anytime" she said kissing him on the cheek "We should get some rest"

"Sounds like a good idea to me" he said placing his arm around her waist.

"Thank you. For coming back to me"

"I promised I'd never leave. Didn't I?" he said earning a small smile from her in response.


	22. Darkstorm

**The villain in this chapter was an idea given to me by a close friend who has been reading this story recently. We were having trouble coming up with a name aaaaaaand long story short. The name isn't great but will suffice. Thank you for reading! Hope you like it**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Darkstorm**

Natasha entered the gym witnessing Shepard and Clint sparring together.

"That all you got? I can move slower for you if you can't keep up" Clint taunted. Shepard smirked, blocking a swing from the left he placed his right hand on his chest and used his right leg to sweep his legs out from under him "Have mercy!" Clint yelled before being slammed onto the floor.

"Nice, Barton" Natasha said with a laugh.

"That's something I used on the recruits back during WWII to keep them in line. Colonel Phillips approved" Shepard said watching Clint crawl away on all fours.

"I can see why"

"Now that you boys are done. I have invitations for all of us to attend a party Tony is holding at a penthouse in New York City" Natasha said sitting down on a bench.

"What're we celebrating?"

"Your return to the super hero business. Stark's words"

"I suppose that's as good a reason as any. You up for it Barton?"

"As long as we don't do anymore sparring. I'm in" he said laying on his back.

"Glad to hear it. I'll go tell the others" Natasha said walking back out of the gym.

* * *

"Shepard!" Pepper yelled excitedly as he entered the room "I'm so glad you could make it. I haven't seen you in over a year. Besides that Chicago thing, of course. Thank you by the way"

"It was no trouble. I was told this was a party celebrating my return from prison. I don't think Tony would ever forgive me if I missed it" he countered with a smirk.

"No, he'd probably leave you tons of drunken voicemails complaining about you standing him up-oh" she said looking behind him. Turning around he saw Natasha enter the room in a beautiful black strapless low cut dress exposing considerable cleavage.

"Wow... you look gorgeous" Shepard said placing his hands on her hips.

"Damn right I am" she said with a smirk as she placed a quick kiss on his lips.

"We should probably go see Tony. We don't want him throwing a fit over us not saying hello"

"He's so childish"

"Quite"

Walking further into the room they noticed Tony and Bucky were actually getting along "Is that Stark and Barnes?" Natasha asked surprised.

"I believe it is. I guess they finally really got to know each other"

"Saving your life probably helped"

"Undoubtedly. I'm just glad they're not trying to kill each other anymore"

"That would be a dampener on the mood"

"Tony!" Shepard called grabbing his attention.

"Hey, the guest of honor finally shows up" he joked "I'm glad you could find time with your busy schedule"

"You know my schedule is completely empty as of right now"

"Then we should be out grabbing drinks more often" Bucky said entering the conversation.

"As long as there isn't a mission that needs doing. I'd be glad to"

"Shawarma after?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"How you old timers doing?" Wanda asked approaching them drink in hand.

"I hope your talking to these three. They are all old" Tony said pointing between them.

"You're fourteen years older than me" Natasha pointed out jabbing him in the side with her elbow.

"Your very young then. Are you old enough to drink?"

"Barley" she answered with a wink.

"Careful, Commander. I think your girlfriend is hitting on me"

"In your dreams, Stark"

"Is he always like this?" Bucky asked.

"Yes" the three of them groaned.

"This suddenly got very hostile towards me"

"And yet people tell me he's nothing like Howard. I don't get it" Bucky said earning a laugh from Shepard and Natasha.

"I get the hint. I'll go where I'm wanted... Clint! How have you been?" he asked making a quick exit.

"I'm glad you two have been getting along so well" Shepard said clamping a hand down on Bucky's shoulder.

"Surprised the hell out of me too. He called me a few days ago and said that now that I'm on the team we should try to get along more"

"Look at that. Tony's all grown up" Wanda joked.

"They grow up so fast" Natasha added wiping away a nonexistent tear.

"You two are hilarious. Perhaps you should start doing standup" Shepard said shaking his head.

"Or perhaps you should all retire before you bite off more than you can chew" came a voice from behind them.

"Who are you to presume to know what we can and can't handle" Wanda asked as they turned to look at her. She was a tall dark skinned woman with purple hair and green eyes wearing a black cloak.

"I am Darkstorm. I cannot be defeated. I am warning you now. Do not stand in my way, and none of you shall be harmed"

"What is it you want?" Shepard asked as he pressed a button on his watch behind his back.

"I want the world to be united. I am going to kill the world leaders who created this bleak world we live in now. Leave me to my work and I shall allow everyone who does not interfere to live in my new world"

"I can't just stand by and let you take innocent lives"

"I'd hardly call them innocent. Do what you must. But know that tomorrow I will kill the members of the UN and finally free this world from its oppressive masters. The rest will either fall in line or die"

"We won't let that happen"

"I could care less what you think. If you get in my way tomorrow. You are going to regret it" she finished jumping backwards out of the window and disappearing.

* * *

"You're telling us that some woman threatened to kill us and you think we should shrink away in fear of this person?" asked Jalta.

"I'm not certain she'll be a threat at all Councilor. I also am unaware if she is an Inhuman or not. I suggest you allow us to provide protection until we discern whether she is a threat or not"

"Commander, I have great respect for you after what you did in Chicago a few weeks ago and New York several years before. But I don't think one woman is going to be able to break through all of our security and kill all of us"

"Anyone on my team could do it alone without even breaking a sweat. I advise you to reconsider"

"Do you truly believe this woman is as powerful as one of the Avengers, Commander?" asked Bakarn.

"I believe there are only two types of people who would announce such a threat to a room full of Avengers. Someone who is completely insane, or someone who is powerful enough to back up their words. Frankly, I get the feeling she isn't the former"

"I believe we should trust you to ensure our safety tomorrow. That way we have nothing to worry about. We have a meeting tomorrow at our headquarters here in New York. I suggest you make sure you're on time"

"Thank you, sir"

"What's the plan here? Are we really sure this is something we need to be involved in? We don't even know she isn't some crazy woman who forgot to take her meds" Tony pointed out.

"People with Psychological disorders usually don't survive jumping off of a penthouse in New York City" Natasha countered.

"We need to be prepared for anything. I was Tony and Rhodes to be stationed on the rooftop making sure she doesn't try to enter from there. Scott and Clint will be on the back entrance. Bucky and Wanda I want near the front keeping an eye out for her. Natasha and I will be on the inside. Sam and Vision I want you on aerial surveillance"

"Sounds like a plan" Sam said with a nod of agreement.

"Any questions? Good"

* * *

Shepard stood waiting for any sign of the woman from the previous night "Thank you for backing me up with Tony last night"

"It was no trouble. I agreed with you anyway so I didn't even need to lie" she said looking towards the east entrance.

"Anyone got eyes on our target?"

"I got nothing. Just a homeless guy asking for some cash" Clint answered.

"I haven't seen anything all day" Tony said with a sigh.

"We've only been here twenty minutes Stark. Nothing on our end either" Wanda said with a smirk.

"I think I got something, Commander. Someone has a sword hidden within a cane inside the council chambers" Sam reported scanning the building with Redwing.

"On it" Shepard notified as he and Natasha started running towards the doors leading inside the room with guns drawn.

"Hurry! She just drew" he yelled as they busted down the doors.

"Hands up!" Natasha yelled as everyone in the room started running for the door trying to escape, blocking their path.

"Everyone move on the council chambers!" Shepard yelled spotting her moving towards the councilors. Pushing past everyone running out of the room Shepard made it to here just before she stabbed one of them. Grabbing the blade he stopped it from killing him inches from his chest.

"Run" Shepard said to the councilors as Natasha arrived with her gun drawn on her.

"I told you to stay out of my way" she said looking up at him.

"I told you I couldn't stand by and watch innocent lives be lost"

"I don't care" she said spitting on his mask.

"Drop it" Natasha ordered cocking the gun.

"No"

Shepard broke the sword as she kicked the gun out of Natasha's hand. Swinging back around she aimed for Shepard's head causing him to duck avoiding the kick. Wanda entered the room and flipped the table behind her to serve as a barrier stopping her from escaping after the councilors. drawing a small blade from her sleeve she stabbed Natasha in the shoulder. Natasha twisted her arm throwing her over her shoulder. Suddenly everyone and everything flew away from her knocking Shepard under some rubble falling from the roof.

 _What was that? It felt different from a blast wave like Daisy threw at me. But there's definitely a blast area with her at the epicenter_

Shepard stood up shakily as Natasha and Wanda slowly followed suit "Okay. Let's see you handle this!" Wanda yelled sending a blast wave towards her only for it to dissipate around her.

 _So she can repel both physical attacks and Psionic attacks. Impressive. How should I play this?_

Darkstorm pulled out a metal pipe from the ground pointing it a Shepard, then extending her right hand towards him. Shepard took an involuntary step forward. Jumping back he began sliding quickly then flying towards her.

 _That's it! That's her ability!_

Shepard pulled a chain out of his pack and threw it towards Natasha who caught it with her arm pulling on it as hard as she could "I got you!" she yelled as Wanda began pulling on the chain as well.

 _We have no chance against her on our own. I need the rest of the team to be able to pull this off_

Suddenly the force pulling him towards her became stronger causing him to slide forward his hand sliding down the chain before losing his grip on the end.

"Damn it!" he grunted out flying towards the pipe she had pointed in his direction. Sam flew into her feet first knocking her over while Vision caught Shepard.

"Nice to see you finally drop in" he said as Tony, Rhodes, Bucky, and Clint entered behind them.

"Scott's making sure all the civilians make it out safely" Clint said aiming his bow at Darkstorm.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked.

"For the most part"

"Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet, and a prolonged battle against her is going to be tight. We need to end this fast. However, I did figure out some of her abilities" he explained.

"No you don't" Darkstorm said charging right at him.

Clint fired arrows at her while Vision fired an energy beam from the stone in his forehead. Bucky and Sam fired their pistols at her while Tony and Rhodes charged their repulsors "No! Don't attack her directly! She'll just repel your attacks!" he warned as the arrows and beam got launched back at them knocking most of them down or back against the wall in Vision's case.

Natasha shot three stun blasts from her wrists. Darkstorm dodged them all. Shepard threw a smoke bomb at her, it was repelled away just before hitting her releasing the smoke blinding her to what was going on around her.

Shepard, Tony, Rhodes, Wanda, and Natasha hid behind the wall outside the room to avoid being heard.

"What just happened back there?" Rhodes asked confused.

"She repelled all our attacks. Using herself as the epicenter, her ability allows her to pull in or push objects away, similar to the magnetic laws of attraction and repulsion. It seems she cannot use it continuously, I know for certain that there is a particular interval before she can activate her ability again.

"Everyone else has been taken down. If she can repel all of our attacks, how can we beat her?" Tony asked.

"The interval between her abilities uses is extremely small. I counted five seconds before she used it again. We have no chance of getting close" Natasha explained.

"Perhaps. But that's our only chance" Shepard concluded "I do have an idea that just might work. I'm going to need your help" he said as he pulled out a laser cutter and drilling a hole in the ground.

Darkstorm looked around noticing everyone was out of the room. Including those she incapacitated. Shepard burst through the floor as she passed over him coming straight for her face with a knife in hand. Repelling him onto his back she stared down at him.

"You're fast. None of your movements are wasted. You're also smart enough to figure out my abilities after such a short period. I need to kill you, so you don't become a nuisance to me later"

Rhodes and Tony slammed into her from her left and right "Too slow" she said her right arm placed under her left arm directed at Tony and her left directed at Rhodes blasting them away from her. A chain came up from the ground pulling her arms to her chest with Natasha and Wanda at opposite sides of it.

 _Commander Shepard, he hid this chain underground before he initiated his attack_

Shepard unsheathed his sword cutting off her head before she had the chance to attack again.

Everyone stared shocked at what had just occurred "John...you just killed her" Natasha said in disbelief.

"I know. There was no other way of stopping her. There was no cell that would've been able to hold her. I'm finally beginning to realize what Schmidt meant about not being able to stop Thanos without killing him. If he's anywhere near as powerful as she was. There's just no way we would be able to take that chance"

Natasha grabbed him into a hug "I can't imagine how hard that must've been for you"

"If Schmidt is right, I'm going to need to do that a lot more than just this once"

"I know. Just don't let it change you. Please"

"I wont. It took me until now to realize it. But killing to protect the ones you love may not be right, but what's right and what's best aren't always the same thing"

"I'm here guys! I'm here!" Scott called out entering the room and seeing her with no head "I missed it didn't I?"

"You may have missed the fight but you did a hell of a job getting the civilians to safety" Wanda said clamping her hand down on his shoulder.

"Who's up for some drinks?" Rhodes asked standing back up "I could really use a drink right now"

"We should take the others to the hospital and get them checked out. We can celebrate after. If you'll excuse me, I need to apologize to the UN about their headquarters" Shepard said walking out of the room.

* * *

"Who is she?" Shepard asked entering the lab where Fitz and Simmons were investigating her body.

"Sandra Martinez. She grew up in Greenwich. Disappeared a couple of months ago when she began working on a classified government project. She was recorded dead due to an accident that caused an explosion within her lab. It appears that was how she obtained her powers" Simmons explained reading a file.

"So she was a disgruntled employee looking to get payback? Why would she attack the UN?"

"It appears that Councilor Bakarn was the one in charge of that project. I assume that she was targeting him but was going to kill the entire panel in order to cover her identity" Fitz added.

"Why would she warn us the night before that she was going to attack them if she didn't want us to stop her?"

"Our best guess is that she wanted you to try and stop her so she could kill you and scare the rest of the world into submission"

"Was she an Inhuman? Or just the victim of an accident?"

"Victim, Commander. She had a promising career ahead of her"

"Did she have any background in martial arts? She was talented in combat"

"None that I can see. I don't know where she would've learned how to fight without someone to teach her"

"Keep looking. Let me know if you find anything" he ordered walking out.

"He does realize he isn't part of SHIELD right? We don't have to follow his orders" Simmons pointed out.

"Yes. But are you really going to ignore an order from Commander Shepard? Coulson would have a stroke"

"I suppose that's true"

* * *

"It doesn't get any easier" Tony said approaching Shepard on the roof of the Avengers compound.

"I know. I just thought that part of me was in the past"

"It is in the past. This is a new part of you"

"I'm going to have to start packing live rounds again in case I need to take someone like Darkstorm down again"

"Such a strange name, don't you think? I think she was just a little bit crazy with a name like that"

Shepard chuckled lightly "Thanks, Tony"

"You've helped me out of a lot of hard places before. Figured it's about time I returned the favor. Also I don't want Natasha to kill me like she threatened to do five minutes ago before I came out here"

They both laughed together as Natasha walked up onto the roof.

"We have guests" she said in a stern tone catching their attention.

"Who?" Shepard asked.

"Me" Fury answered stepping out from behind her.

"Nick? Since when did you start making social calls?"

"That's not what we are here for" Coulson answered from behind him.

"We need to talk about Thanos. He clearly has intentions to conquer Earth after gaining these Infinity Stones. He already has possession of one of them and knows the location of four others. Waiting for him to come to us is not a sound idea. We need to take the fight to him before he takes it to us"

"I agree. Only problem is we don't have transport that can take us to Andromeda, much less figure our way to Xandar"

"You can come up with something right, Stark?" Fury asked raising his eyebrow.

"Me? You want me to figure out how to create something that can make us travel faster than the speed of light? That's crazy! It can't be done. We still have no guarantee that anything I make is even safe"

"How much time do you need?"

"Time? Time isn't the problem! I can't make something move faster than light without being torn apart-"

"Then we need to figure out another way. I need the data Dr. Selvig recorded of the Bifröst Thor uses for travel"

"What for?"

"If we can recreate that phenomenon, we can possibly travel to Xandar. At the very least we can find Thor on Asgard and get him to take us there"

"Sounds plausible...I think I can make that work if you can get me the data" Tony concluded.

"Excellent. I'll have the data sent directly to your system. Keep me updated on your progress" he said turning to leave.

"Nice seeing you again, Commander" Coulson said with a salute before walking off.

"He's such a fanboy" Natasha said with a smirk crossing her face.

"Thankfully he isn't unbearable about it" Shepard said walking back inside the building.

"Ok...I guess I'll get started on building the Hyperdrive. Maybe the FTL-drive? No, no, no. I need something more fitting-" Tony continued to himself walking in the direction of his lab.


	23. The Maw

**Hey guys! Thank you all for reading, I like all the positive feedback. I put a lot of thought into this chapter, so I hope you all like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: The Maw**

Two months later

Shepard and Natasha sat on the roof of the compound watching the other Avengers training below them.

"It's so peaceful up here" She said smiling warmly up at him from her place laying on his lap.

"It's certainly a nice place to get away from everything" he agreed.

"Commander! I'm going to have to ask for your presence immediately" Fury yelled up to them from the training field.

"Fury? What's he doing here?" she asked sitting upright at the sound of his voice.

"I suppose we should go find out"

Standing from his place on the roof he led her to the lounge. Fury stood in the center of the room with a datapad in his right hand.

"What seems to be the trouble, Fury?" Shepard asked coming into the room.

Without looking up he tapped the screen projecting a holographic image into the room showing a large chasm with a spire in the center.

"This is the problem"

"What is it?"

"Something alien. That wasn't there two days ago, now suddenly there is a giant tower sitting at the back of this chasm in the middle of Africa"

"What's the play? If this is an invading army we need to smother it before this gets out of hand"

"Agreed. We have been led to believe by Schmidt that this is the creation of Thanos. SHIELD has a task force in the area working with the US Military to assault the spire. We need the Avengers leading the charge"

"Tony needs to keep working on the Warpdrive. If we can't take the fight to Thanos, we will be sitting ducks"

"Agreed. The rest of your team however needs to be in the field"

"Understood. I'll round everyone up and brief them on the way to Africa"

"Excellent"

* * *

"Ross. Funny how I keep running into you" Shepard said entering the tent.

"Commander. Shouldn't you be rotting in a jail cell somewhere?" he asked in a snarky tone.

"Gentlemen, I didn't bring you here to hear you argue" Fury sighed.

"I took the liberty of sending Natasha and Clint ahead to scout the area-"

"You did what?! You could've exposed our entire operation!" Ross yelled infuriated.

"If they have the technology to be able to set up a base of operations in a giant spire with two anti-aircraft guns guarding the sides of the chasm, do you really think they aren't aware of the army massing at it's doorsteps?"

That's not your call-"

"Mr. Secretary, I asked you here to advise us on the situation presented to us. I have placed Commander Shepard in charge at the behest of the President. is that understood?"

"Yes, sir" he said shaking his head in annoyance.

"What did Barton and Romanoff find?"

"As I previously stated, there are two anti-aircraft guns protecting the chasm entrance. The spire at the back of it has a shield keeping any tactical missiles from proving fruitful. They have pylons set around the location emitting a cloaking field around the spire keeping us from being able to see them. Luckily Natasha and Clint were able to see past it and discover this landing zone, it's origin is yet to be confirmed. I believe they set up this spire as a type of staging area for an all out assault against us once their forces have arrived. The other possibility is this is a large scouting party looking for the Infinity Stones and have no intention to conquer currently" he explained.

"What's the plan then? Do we watch them and gather any information we can or attack them head on?"

"Neither. I believe there is something we are missing. We need to take out that spire before we can find out anything more. Natasha and Clint have sabotaged one of the pylons keeping them cloaked, if we send a small portion of the Task Force against them we can fool them into thinking we are attacking head on. Once we take down the guns we can infiltrate that spire and disable it's shield. Once the shield is down, we send a helicarrier to take it down and we see how they react. If they retreat they have to have somewhere to run. If they surrender then we know this is all they brought with them"

"So let me get this straight. You want us to poke the bear and see if it runs away or rolls over?" Ross asked.

"Exactly. They have a leader somewhere. We need to find out where"

"What's your plan of attack?"

"You and Ross need to choose who goes on the attack tomorrow. Wanda and I will take the bridge here" he pointed to a map of the region "Take down their guns and then move on the spire to power down it's shield. Once it's down we'll need extraction to get out of the area before your carrier takes it down. If their leader is in the spire we will attempt to capture them for interrogation"

"Sounds good" Fury agreed turning to leave"

* * *

Dozens of jeeps drove towards the location of the spire with Shepard in the passenger seat of one of them with his rifle in hand and Wanda driving and a marine in the turret mounted onto the back of it. Above them were several helicopters and quinjets.

"That landing zone has been marked as a priority one target" Fury said over the radio.

"Charge link reads loud and clear" Ross reported.

"Copy that. Engaging signal lock on the pylon" Wanda said pulling out the detonator "Detonating in three...two..." pressing the button an explosion tore through the air just to the left of the attack multiple aircrafts shaped like small pods with wings making the shape of a letter V appeared in front of them as the cloaking field disappeared. Swerving the jeep right to avoid the blasts fired from the ships she veered towards the bridge on their right. Approaching the bridge, two ships fired towards them.

"Incoming!" Shepard yelled as the bridge exploded.

"Might want to hold onto something" Wanda warned as she accelerated over the bridge Wanda channeled psionic energy launching them to the other side and flipping the vehicle upon impact. Shepard fell from the vehicle as it continued flipping stopping on it's back. Groaning he pushed himself up to look to his left in time to see a second jeep attempt to make it across only to slam into the front of the bridge and fall to their impending deaths.

"Commander! Commander, can you hear me? I could use some help" Wanda said as she pulled herself from the vehicle.

Multiple Kree soldiers came over the ridge firing towards the two of them as Shepard propped himself onto his knees. Picking up his rifle he fired across the field taking down several of them before they realized he was there "That work for you?" he asked standing up.

"It works" she answered with a smirk.

"Commander, What's your status?" Fury asked.

"Bridge is out. Pylons are down and the jeep is trashed. We're pushing up the hill" he answered as they began moving towards the guns.

"Keep me posted. We need those guns taken out ASAP so the Tempest can make it's approach, I can't get you air support with them still up"

"We'll get it done" Wanda answered.

Making their way towards the guns they saw several Kree heading for them "You want to do the drop?" Wanda asked.

"Good a plan as any" he answered backing away.

Wanda walked out into the open so they could see her they all drew their weapons on her firing instantly. Turning on her heel she ran as fast as she could using rocks and trees for cover as she ran diving behind a far off tree she hid so they wouldn't find her.

 _She went that way. Northwest, hundred meters. No weapon. Easy kill_ the leader said in their language though Shepard could understand them.

They all spread out forming a circle to be able to see if she made a move on them before they were expecting it. Shepard slowly stood up from the middle of them with his sword in hand. Slicing the throat of the one to his right, he grabbed the Kree's pistol from his holster. Turning his blade horizontally he rested the pistol on his blade firing it into the back of the soldier furthest from him.

 _Right there!_ yelled the leader turning to see him. Shepard dodged left to avoid a bullet then right for another, spinning he kicked the leader into the soldier behind him. Tucking the weapon under his left arm he spun around using his blade to push the fourth's weapon away as it fired from him then slashing him in the throat. Turning quickly he placed his blade under the gun releasing it from his arm and pushing it away from him as it fired. Slicing his chest twice he fired the pistol in his left hand into his skull. Turning he fired another round into the head of the furthest killing him immediately.

"You're still amazing to watch even with knowing how kickass you are" Wanda said approaching from behind.

"Glad to impress you"

"Let's get this over with" she said as they approached the gun.

"Let's make sure the outside is clear before you get started" Shepard said sheathing his blade and drawing his rifle.

"Good idea. Don't want to get shot in the back while doing this"

Slowly approaching the gun Shepard used his scope to see if there was any guards protecting the gun "Looks clear" Wanda said.

"Could be a trap. Let me take a closer look" he said holding his hand up to make her stay put. Making his way over to the gun he looked around scanning the area with his eyes looking for any sign of trouble. Moving to the other side of the gun he heard gunfire and dropped to the ground immediately aiming in the direction it came from. Firing at the Kree he hit the rock he was hiding behind causing him to take cover. Aiming his rifle carefully he lined up a shot on his head.

 _Surprise_ one of the soldiers said holding a shotgun in his direction. Quickly rolling onto his side he pulled his pistol out from it's holster firing it three times forcing him to run back behind the gun. Standing quickly he went to the other side of the gun and fired his rifle killing the Kree hiding further away. Holding his rifle up with his right hand and his pistol in his left he watched both directions carefully. Noticing nothing he pulled out a flashbang and threw it to the side the Kree was hiding behind.

 _Grenade!_

Coming around the corner to see three of them covering their eyes with one of them on his knees with a blade in hand he fired his pistol killing one. The other Kree fired his gun blindly trying to hit him. Shepard stepped back behind cover lowering himself and picking up the shotgun the other had. Firing it around the corner he killed him hitting him in the chest. Turning around the corner the third Kree was missing wiping around quickly as he heard screaming from behind him as the Kree charged with his blade out. Suddenly he flew backwards enveloped in red energy flying right off the nearby cliff.

"You welcome"

"Thank you. Gun is clear, go to work"

"Got it" Wanda began channeling psionic energy around the gun turning it towards the second gun across the chasm and firing it effectively destroying the gun. Proceeding to rip the gun off the mounting she threw it down into the chasm crushing dozens of Kree soldiers marching through it.

"Fury, the guns are down. I need transport to the spire" Shepard reported.

"Chopper is already on the way with some backup" he answered as it flew over the ridge into view. Landing close by they approached it with Wanda breathing heavily having exhausted herself from the exertion.

"Need a lift, Commander?" Bucky asked from his seat in the chopper as Clint and Scott exited.

"Barton, Lang, I need you to help Wanda here to the extraction zone. Bucky and I can handle the spire"

"Yes, Commander" Clint said leading Wanda away.

"Let's get this done" Bucky said as Shepard entered the gunner seat of the chopper.

* * *

"Fury, we're at the spire we need a scan of the shield back to you" Shepard reported.

"Understood. Romanoff, What've we got?"

"It appears the spire is projecting an electromagnetic cloaking shield. Unfortunately I can't figure out what it's cloaking"

"Acknowledged. Priority one pilot. We've gotta know what's in there" Shepard ordered.

"Understood. Here we go" he complied flying them through the shield. As they passed through it the chopper surged and began spinning uncontrollably "We've just lost all power. We're going down. Repeat, we're going down"

"Hold on!" Bucky yelled gripping the side of the chopper with his metallic arm.

"Brace for impact!" the pilot yelled back just moments before they crashed throwing Shepard from the gunner seat and rolling down the hill stopping just behind the crashed chopper.

Slowly standing up he picked up his rifle and scanned around as to not be ambushed. Bucky climbed from the wreckage with a light machine gun in hand.

"Crew's dead, Commander. We shouldn't stay here"

"Agreed. I'm seeing hostiles all over the place. Let's get a move on before they hit us" he said leading them up the hill quickly towards the spire. As it came into view they noticed the large amount of Kree forces patrolling the bottom floor.

"Fury, We've got eyes on the spire. Definitely looks like a staging area"

"Copy. We have your visual. Ross is working the problem. Standby"

"We don't have time to wait around. They're all around us" Bucky said back.

"I understand Sargent Barnes, but the two of you can't take a small army by yourselves"

"We'll figure something out, Fury" Shepard said back.

"Commander, that spire appears to have teleportation terminals" Natasha reported.

"Teleporters? Linked to what?"

"Unknown. We may be able to hijack the signal and allow you both to teleport to the top of the spire" she explained.

"Excellent work. Bucky I want you to stay here and draw as many of them as you can into that kill box over there" he ordered pointing to a small cavern well suited for an ambush "I'll get the shield down and clear out the spire so we can be extracted"

"Understood, sir. Be careful"

"You too. Natasha, I'm ready to go if you are"

"Got a lock on your signal" she said as he was enveloped in a blue energy and was suddenly falling towards the side of the spire.

"Shit!" he yelled unsheathing his sword and imbedding it into the platform stopping I'm from falling " Next time, a few inches to the left would've been nice"

"Apologies, Commander" she responded wincing.

"I'm in the spire. Looks to be empty. I'm not sure why"

"Commander! All enemy forces in the area appear to be retreating rapidly" Bucky said watching as the Kree ran away from the spire.

"How often do you see Kree retreat for no reason?" Shepard wondered aloud.

"Hurry, Commander! I'm enroute with a chopper. We'll pick you up once you knock out power to that shield. The Tempest can't move in until the shield is powered down"

"Ready when you are, Commander" Bucky said placing his weapon on his back.

Shepard reluctantly powered down the shield. The chopper landed picking up Bucky then rose to hover just above the spire platform. Placing his rifle on his back he ran to the edge and leaped towards the chopper grabbing Bucky's metallic arm. Bucky pulled him up into the chopper.

"Get us out of here" Fury ordered the pilot.

"Control. This is Commander Shepard. The spire is green and you're clear to engage"

"Copy Commander. Be advised all ground units. Carrier Tempest is inbound and rail rounds have been authorized" Ross reported.

"Rail rounds?" Bucky asked confused.

"One way to get their attention. Hold onto your teeth people" Fury said with a smirk as the carrier passed by them. The Tempest approached the spire and fired a rail round destroying it as it collapsed on itself. Suddenly a large red laser pierced the center of the carrier causing it to crash into the chasm.

"New contact. High telemetry" Natasha reported surprised.

"No... Someone tell me this isn't happening" Bucky said watching the crash.

Shepard stood from his seat and hung off the side of the chopper watching the giant ship that had suddenly appeared overhead.

"Tempest do you copy?" asked Ross.

"Tempest just got turned to dust. We need to get out of here now!" Fury yelled in response.

"Pull everybody back" Shepard said shaking his head.

"Commander, we need to-" Ross began.

"Pull them back!" he ordered.

"All units. Fall back. Fall back now!" Ross ordered.

* * *

"Greetings denizens of Terra" said a small lanky man with sickly pale skin, white hair, and blue glowing eyes. Many wrinkles covered his face displaying his age. He appeared on every TV, phone, and computer screen around the world "I'd like to congratulate you on destroying my cloaking spire. As you can clearly now see my ship is parked directly over your planet. Any further aggression against my forces will be met with extreme prejudice. I am Ebony Maw of the Black Order here for my master Thanos the Mad Titan. I am here for the infinity stone you have in your possession. If you present me with the Infinity Stone, I promise you will not be harmed. We will leave and you will never hear from us again. If you resist however, I shall have an entire fleet at my back ready to destroy your planet. Think on that while you make your decision" he vanished from the screens.

"Our foe is more devious than we imagined" Natasha said to Shepard who glared at the empty screen.

"Indeed. And we have nothing than can match the strength of those shields"

"Yes. Tony said they are completely immune to our strongest nukes. Even rail rounds wouldn't do the trick against that"

"We need to wait for backup"

"That things crushing us and we're waiting for backup? They'll be backing up a graveyard"

"We don't have anything else we can do. All our nukes went down with the ship that carried them. Even if we had them they wouldn't do us any good. You're preaching to the converted"

"How converted?"

"Don't give me that look, Nat"

"You can say no-"

"No"

"You don't even want to hear it?"

Shepard paused with a thoughtful look "Fine I'll hear it"

"Remember a couple of weeks back when Tony almost destroyed the lab with his Warpdrive?"

"The drive malfunctioned and exploded destroying half the lab, left a hole in the test chamber, right?"

"Actually it worked fine" Tony said stepping into the room "I mounted it improperly in the test chamber. When it fired it teleported itself to oblivion. Luckily I had it set to a low setting so not much was affected"

"This is relevant, how exactly?"

"A certain ship sitting above us could with some assistance suffer the same unfortunate accident" Natasha explained.

"That's..."

"Inspired?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

"Certainly not the word I would've used"

"Only one problem. How do we get it up there?" Tony asked.

"We borrow one of Coulson's quinjets. We can get ourselves up into the frigate they have on the opposite side of the planet" Shepard said.

"All we need is permission from Ross and Stark's Warpdrive" Natasha said.

"Good luck with that"

"Your the one asking him" she said holding up his phone.

Shaking his head he grabbed the phone a began dialing the number "There's no way in hell he is going to go for this" he said putting it to his ear.

* * *

"I can't believe he went for this" Shepard said as the cloaked quinjet made its way slowly towards the frigate.

"Some plans are just too good to say no" Natasha smirked from the pilot seat.

"Let's get it done before he changes his mind" Shepard said turning towards the squad of SHIELD agents gearing up in the back.

"Commander Shepard, this is Ross"

"Go ahead, Mr. Secretary"

"We need you to get that frigate on a refueling run to the carrier before detonating the bomb. That quinjet is your only way off that ship so make sure you keep it in good condition"

"We'll get it done"

"I stuck my neck out on this one, Commander. Make sure that you do"

"We're entering the ships hanger now. Activating communications jamming" Natasha said as she removed the cloaking from the quinjet and firing the gun on the front clearing out the Kree soldiers occupying it as they scrambled in surprise.

Shepard led the squad out of the quinjet "Natasha, I'm leaving you in charge of them. I'll head to the bridge and get us on course for the carrier. Keep the bird in one piece"

"Got it"

Making his way through the corridors he snuck by many of the soldiers he encountered while quickly disposing of others. Arriving at the bridge he fired three rounds into each of them as they moved for their weapons. One snuck up behind him. Turning on his heel he grabbed the rifle with his left hand and threw it out of the Kree's hands firing three rounds to his chest dropping him to his knees, drawing his pistol he fired another round into his head.

"Bridge is clear. Activating refueling run" he said using Tony's hacking software to force the frigate to move towards the super carrier.

"Get back here as soon as you can. I'm out numbered, squad is down. Could really use some help over here"

"I'm on my way" he said entering the hallway he began reloading his weapon. A Kree soldier kicked the rifle from his hands. Shepard head-butted him, a second Kree came around the corner and threw a knife at him. Catching the blade in his right hand he jabbed it into the soldiers head, grabbing him around the back of his head he spun them around drawing his pistol he fired three more rounds taking down the other soldier. Slamming the first against the wall he slammed his fist into the knife forcing it through the wall.

Entering the hanger he charged the first Kree he saw placing his left arm under the Kree's right arm forcing it behind his back and firing his pistol while using him as cover taking down four other soldiers. Removing the clip from the Kree's gun he kicked him away from himself firing two rounds into his chest and one into his head.

"Better late than never" Natasha said standing up from her cover spot.

"Glad to see I want too late" he said embracing her in a hug "C'mon let's get the drive primed to go" he said walking towards the back of the quinjet where it was mounted.

"At current velocity 72 seconds to endpoint" Vision reported flying low just outside their atmosphere.

"Understood" Shepard said typing the code into the drive. The device beeped signaling an error. Following the same process it beeped once again "It's going to be like that then" he sighed smacking the side of it. he walked into the quinjet and did a quick scan of it's systems.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news. This bird took some fire and the thrusters are toast so the only way of this slag heap is gravity" he explained handing her an oxygen mask.

"And the good news?" she asked placing it on her face.

"That was the good news"

"36 seconds to end point" Vision reported watching the frigate slow down underneath the carrier.

Shepard removed his helmet "Thank you, Vision" he said dropping the helmet onto the ground "Bad news is the timer is fried. I'm going to have to fire it manually"

A look of shock spread across her features before changing to one of horror "No! I can't lose you again. We can find another way-"

"There is no other way"

"There's always another way! You taught me that!" she yelled with tears in her eyes.

"I'm not going to allow you to stay and do it instead-"

"Then let's do it together! I can't live without you-"

"You must" he said pulling his dog tags off and placing them in her hands "We wont get a second chance at this" he said picking her up by her arms and walking her over to the hanger exit.

"Please, Shepard! I don't want you to die! I can't let you die! I love you" she said crying hysterically.

"I love you too, Natasha. More than anything. Make this count" he said before throwing her out of the ship.

"No!" Rang out through the radio for everyone to hear.

"Natasha?" Vision asked watching her fall from the ship. Acting quickly he flew towards her catching her and descending quickly to an atmosphere she could breathe in "Natasha what happened?" he asked.

Shepard picked up his helmet in his hand and walked towards the drive slowly typing the detonation code into the device.

 _So this is how my story ends. Not the way I pictured it. Natasha, please don't let this destroy you. I know you are stronger than that, stronger than me_

With these final thoughts he pressed enter. The ship was caught in a giant white explosion pulling everything in close proximity towards it breaking the carrier in half killing anyone aboard the ship instantly.

"Shepard...stayed behind" she breathed out trying to stop the tears.

"What?!" Bucky yelled angrily.

"Shepard can't be dead. He survives everything, right?" Tony said in disbelief.

"No one survives everything" Vision said ruefully.

Wanda looked up at the sky in disbelief "He always did make the hard decisions" she said with a tear falling down her face.

"We... I'll prepare a ceremony for him. Everyone will know what happened here today" Fury said with his eye downcast.

"He gave us a fighting chance we never would've had" Coulson said his voice filled with sorrow.

"We wont waste it" Clint said with a nod to him.

* * *

Natasha entered the cell looking Schmidt right in the eyes as she did "I'm surprised. Normally Ross is the only one to visit me. Shepard as well of course"

"I need to know if you know anything about the Black Order"

"They're Thanos's right hand. Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, and Supergiant. They make up the Black Order that Thanos sends against the planets he seeks to conquer"

"Do you know of their abilities? Where they are? What they do?"

"I don't know their abilities or locations. I only know that Ebony Maw is a tactical genius and master of manipulation. Corvus Glaive and his wife Proxima Midnight are the generals of his armies, Glaive himself is immortal as long as his weapon remains unbroken. Cull Obsidian the brother of Glaive is the executioner of Thanos. He goes against armies singlehandedly. Supergiant is the one I know least about, he seems to keep her in the background as much as possible. The one time I know of her going into battle she destroyed the entire planet without even so much as a scratch. None of them amount to anything when compared to Thanos himself"

"We won't need to worry about Ebony Maw anymore. He was aboard the ship we destroyed"

"Excellent. He is a devious foe to be sure. The others are all equally as powerful"

"Thank you for your time" she said turning to leave the room.

"How does Shepard plan to take on Thanos? Has he come up with a brilliant strategy like he always does?"

Natasha stopped short "Shepard... he's dead" she answered wiping away another tear.

"Then we are all doomed" he said shaking his head.

* * *

A bright white light pierced my vision with other colors like red and green, orange and yellow. Landing hard into a large pile of trash I stood up and looked out among the large piles of garbage around me. There were dozens of purple portals open in the sky including one that I came through. Off in the distance there was a large black mushroom shaped cloud coming up from the ground with red lighting flashing inside the cloud. Picking up my helmet from the pile of garbage and wiping of the gunk on the outside I placed it onto my head.

"Where the hell am I?"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be up soon! Make sure you have seen the movie Thor: Ragnarok before reading it major spoilers await you**


	24. Ragnarok

**Warning: This chapter is based off of the movie Thor: Ragnarok. If you haven't seen this movie yet and do not want spoilers, don't read. This is the only warning you will be getting so please heed it. Thank you. Everyone else, I hope you like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four: Ragnarok**

Shepard stood there in awe and confusion watching as small box shaped transports flew overhead. One of them stopped landing a few feet in front of him. A surprisingly large group of strangely dressed men walked out of the considerably small ship.

"Are you a fighter or just more prey?" the man in front asked with a rifle resting on his shoulder.

"How about lost?" Shepard asked.

"Food" the man concluded. The men around him approached him with their weapons drawn.

"You're pulling a gun on me? You're not going to like how that goes. Put the gun down before you make me mad" he warned.

The man closest to him aimed for his chest daring him to make a move. Using his left hand he pushed the barrel away from himself grabbing him with his right hand and snapping his neck. Turning he punched two more in the face knocking them down. The man in charge aimed his weapon, the barrel expanded launching a net at him with electricity coursing through it. Shepard used his sword to slice through the net with ease.

"I warned you. Now I'm gonna-"

Suddenly a ship landed behind the large group of men. A dark skinned woman emerged from the ship. She had white paint markings on her face and black hair tied back in a ponytail "Not so fast boys" she said walking down the platform extending from the cockpit "I want first crack at him" Her arms ignited in a blue light, the arms on the ship followed her movements "I already blew away another group of you scavengers just two miles away. You wouldn't want to end up like them would you?"

"Of course not! We'll be on our way" the man in charge said motioning the others to quickly follow him back into the ship.

"Thank god. I didn't have anymore ammo in those guns" she sighed aloud in relief.

"Thank you. May I ask who-" She threw a small disk at him. Shepard caught it inches from his neck, pulling it in front of his face he inspected it curiously "That's interesting... Also rude. Is it the mask? Some people find it disconcerting" he asked with a smirk.

"You've got fast reflexes. That's good, you'll need that in the ring"

"I'm not participating in any-" The woman launched herself at him reaching for his neck. Shepard side stepped out of the way grabbing her arm and slamming her onto the floor holding her down "You really ought to stop interrupting people"

"I'll take that into consideration" she said kicking him in the chest sending him flying back into the side of her ship. Without missing a beat she charged him sticking another disk onto the small area of his neck that was exposed. Shepard kicked her in the chest pushing her back and drawing his gun. She held a small device in her hand pressing her thumb onto it. Shepard began convulsing on the floor knocking him unconscious almost immediately.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" she asked as she began dragging him into her ship "For me at least" she laughed out.

* * *

"Fear not for you are found" played a synthetic voice stirring Shepard from his stupor "What the hell?" he asked aloud looking around. He was strapped to a chair by metal shackles slowly passing through a tunnel.

"You are home and there is no going back. No one leaves this place. But what is this place? The answer is... Sakaar" the voice explained as the tunnel became filled with images of planets and portals "Surrounded by cosmic gateways, Sakaar lives on the edge of the known and unknown. It is the collection point for all lost and unloved things. Like you"

"That's rather presumptuous"

"But here on Sakaar, you are significant. You are valuable. You are loved. And no one loves you more than the Grandmaster" it continued as a figure of a man came into view "He is the original. The first lost and the first found. The creator of Sakaar and father to the contest of champions. Where once you were nothing, now you are something. You are the property of the Grandmaster. Congratulations, you will be meeting the Grandmaster in five seconds. Prepare yourself. Prepare yourself" it continued as the images around him began to speed past him disorienting him briefly as he heard someone screaming.

Turning towards the direction of the scream he saw a man sitting in a chair matching the one he was trapped in "Thor? Is that you?" he asked confused.

"Commander?" he asked turning to his right.

"I love them" the man in the chair in front of them said "he's stunning and he's intimidating... they are he's right?" he asked looking to the woman who captured them.

"They are he's"

"What do I always say, Topaz. When we get to talking about Scrapper 142?" he asked a bulky woman next to him "She is the... it starts with a B-"

"Trash"

"No, not trash. Were you just waiting to say that? That doesn't start with a B"

"Boozehead"

"I'm so sorry. I say you're the best. She brought me my beloved champion you know"

"You say that every time she's here"

"What have you brought me today? Tell me"

"Contenders" she answered.

"What?" Thor asked.

"I need to go closer. I need to take a closer look at this. Can you take us closer?" he asked Topaz who began pushing his chair closer "Pay this lady"

"Just wait a damn minute! I'm not for sale!" Thor yelled pulling his arms off the chair taking the shackles with him. Scrapper 142 pressed a button on her device causing Thor to convulse in the chair.

"He's a fighter!" The Grandmaster noted.

"You should've seen how much of a fight this one put up" she said gesturing towards Shepard "Keep an eye on him. He's a fast one"

"How much?"

"I'll take ten million each"

"Tell her she's dreaming" Topaz spat.

"For heavens sake transfer the units" he said waving her off.

"You'll pay for this" Thor groaned out as 142 walked past.

"No I got paid for this"

"Here's what I want to know. Who are you?" Grandmaster asked forcing Thor's hands back down onto the chair arms.

"I am the God of Thunder!" he yelled breaking his hands free again with a small amount of electricity coming off his fingertips.

"Wow. I don't hear thunder, but out of your fingertips was that sparkles?" he asked smiling "How about you Mr. Brooding, who are you?

Shepard glared hard without answering "You address Johnathan Shepard. Commander of the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes. You will show him respect" Thor demanded.

"Thank you, Lord of Thunder" Grandmaster smiled gleefully.

"We've located your cousin" Topaz said walking back into the room.

"Oh good. Come on. I think you're going to like this" Grandmaster said leading them into another room with a third man chained to a chair.

"Hi" Thor said watching the man weep.

"Carlo. I couldn't find you. Were you hiding?"

"I'm sorry" he said between sobs.

"Carlo. I pardon you" he answered with a smile holding a large golden scepter shaped like a tesla coil with an orange ball on the top.

"Thank you!" he sighed relieved.

"You're officially pardoned. From life" he added placing the tip of the scepter to his chest.

Carlo screamed in agony as his body dissolved onto the floor.

"Oh my god!" Thor yelled in shock and disgust.

"I'm stepping in it. I'm stepping in it!" Grandmaster yelled lifting his foot up in disgust.

"The smell" Thor choked out.

"What does it smell like?"

"Burnt toast" Topaz answered.

"Pardon me I haven't introduced myself yet" he led them into a room with many different people partying "My name is Grandmaster. I preside over a little thing we like to call the Contest of Champions. People come far and wide to unwillingly participate in it. You my friends are just going to be part of the new cast. How's that sound?"

"I don't give a shit about your games. I'm going back to Asgard!"

"You son of a bitch" Shepard said lowly grabbing Thor's attention. Thor looked to see he was noticing Loki's presence at the party.

"Loki? Loki! Loki! Over here!" he yelled grabbing his attention. Loki instantly had a look of regret cross over his face. He stood up and approached them.

"You're alive?"

"Of course I'm alive"

"What're you doing here?"

"Bench warming" Shepard said venomously.

"Oh... Commander"

"What do you mean "what am I doing here?" I'm stuck in this stupid chair. Where's your chair?"

"I didn't get a chair"

"Get us out of these ones"

"I can't"

"Get us out"

"I can't"

"Why the hell not?"

"Grandmaster is a lunatic and I only just recently gained his favor a couple weeks ago"

"Weeks ago? What're you talking about?"

"What're we whispering about?" Grandmaster interrupted startling Thor and Loki "Time doesn't work the same here as other places. Any other world I would be thousands of years old and on this place..." he let the sentence hang "In any case, do you know him? You call yourself Lord of Thunder"

"God of Thunder" he corrected "Tell him" he gestured to Loki.

"I've never met this man in my life"

"He's my brother!"

"Adopted"

"Is he a good fighter?"

"Take this thing off my neck and I'll show you" Thor said with a crazed smile.

"Look at that, he's threatening me. Look Lord of Thunder if you want to get back to..." he let the statement hang waiting for an answer.

"Asgard!"

"Anyone who beats my champion. Their freedom they shall win"

"Fine then point me in the direction of whoever's ass I have to kick!"

"That's what I call a contender. This way Lord" he said making the chairs move them out of the room.

"Loki!" he yelled back to him as they were forced out.

* * *

Shepard and Thor were thrown into a large cell with two others sitting against the wall. Thor began punching the door in a blind rage.

"Hey, hey, man you gotta calm down" a large man who looked to be made of pure stone said standing up.

"Who the hell are you?" Thor asked stepping away from the door.

"My name's Korg, and this is Miek" he answered gesturing between himself and the prisoner next to him that appeared to be some type of bug sitting in a robotic body.

"Do you know any weaknesses to this cell? Guards that can be bribed? Anything useful to help us get out of here" Shepard asked scanning the room with his eyes.

"Nope. I was put in here because I tried to organize a revolution and the only ones who showed up where my mom and her boyfriend who I don't really like. Sort of an ironic promotion"

"You ever fought the champion the Grandmaster was talking about?" Thor asked.

"No, no, no. I only do the smaller fights. Warm up the crowd you know? You're not planning on fighting him are you?"

"That's right. I'm gonna kick his ass and get the hell out of here so I can save Asgard"

"That's what Doug used to say. Isn't that right Doug?" Korg called to a man slumped against the wall in the corner. He didn't show any sign of hearing Korg "Oh that's right, Doug is dead"

"That happen often in here?" Shepard asked.

"Only when the champion is involved. Anyone who faces that guy comes back like that. If they come back at all that is" Korg explained as Thor ran around the cell ending up in the same place he started from.

"What the-"

"Oh, ya. This cell is circle, but not a normal circle. Kinda like a weird circle"

"Is there anything that makes sense on this planet?" Thor asked exasperated.

"Nothing makes sense on Sakaar. The only thing that does make sense is that nothing makes sense"

"I don't think you want to go up against this champion, Thor. I get the feeling not everyone comes back because the odds are stacked against them by the Grandmaster. We should buy time to-"

"We don't have time. Asgard is in trouble! I need to kick this champions ass so I can get the hell out of here" he insisted walking away.

Shepard shook his head "That's exactly what Doug used to say. Good luck new Doug!" Korg called to him.

* * *

Shepard noticed Thor being dragged towards the ring for the fight with the champion. Shaking his head in annoyance he continued inspecting the weapons while all the guards and other contestants were too involved in watching the fight. Slowly taking pieces off the weapons he pocketed the parts, he began constructing a small stick with a small blade at the end of it. Pocketing it he continued to inspect the other weapons.

Suddenly a roar tore through the air grabbing Shepard's attention. Dropping the weapon he raced towards the viewing area pushing past the others to get to Korg "Out of my way!" he yelled moving anyone in front of him to the floor. Looking out into the ring he saw Hulk charging Thor "It can't be" he breathed out with half a smile.

"Do you know him?" Korg asked.

"He's the Hulk. I know him from Earth, he normally doesn't look like that he's smaller like me and goes by Bruce Banner. He disappeared two years ago"

"Sounds like your happy to see him"

"He's a close friend"

"He doesn't seem to be acting like a friend to Thor"

"Hulk is harder to control than Bruce is. You'll figure out what I mean soon enough"

"I hope so. That statement made no sense at all"

* * *

Shepard used the small blade he built to scrape the device off his neck carefully to ensure not to harm himself. Propelling it against a nearby wall as he removed it he grinned in excitement.

"What was that?" Korg asked as he stood up and approached the door.

"That was me removing the device on my neck" he answered inspecting the door "Did you notice how many guards were outside when we were tossed back in here?"

"Two or three. Why?"

"Because you and me are going to have a fight"

"What? That would make the guards come in here to-oh, I see" Korg said before shoving him against the wall "I've had enough of your harsh words!" he yelled loud enough for the guards to hear.

"Do something about it then!"

"I'm going to remove both your arms and use them to make a chair out of what is left of you!"

"I'd like to see you try you pile of pebbles!"

"Hurtful" Korg whispered.

"Just go with it"

"Now I'm angry!"

The guards suddenly entered the room activating the devices in their hands causing Korg and Shepard to convulse on the floor "Stupid slaves, always fighting over something"

Shepard was up and snapped the neck of the first before stabbing the second with his makeshift knife.

"Looks like we're good to go" Shepard said tossing Korg the device to free himself "Make sure you make the most of your newfound freedom" he said exiting the room and heading straight for the armory where his gear is being held. Arriving at the door he noticed the guard was listening to music on his radio completely oblivious to his presence. Shepard quickly put on his armor and strapped on his weapons before silently leaving.

"Time to go to work" he whispered to himself using his helmets interface to scan the building.

* * *

Shepard entered the room finding Scrapper 142 alone with a shattered window in front of her as she shook her head. "Don't tell me I went to the wrong room" he sighed annoyed.

"No you're in the right place" she said turning around.

"I'm debating shooting you right now"

"How'd you break out?"

"I may have been able to salvage something from all the scraps of weaponry from the contest. Used it to disable the device you put on my neck and the lock on the door of my cell. Where's Thor?"

"He just jumped out this window with Hulk not far behind him"

"Guess that's where I'm going then" he answered holstering his pistol and jumping out the shattered window. Once on the ground he heard roaring in the distance. Following it hoping it would lead to Thor he found Hulk smashing through the quinjet walking towards Thor.

"Friend stay!" Hulk yelled.

"Hulk! Stand down!" Shepard yelled.

Turning abruptly he looked at Shepard in surprise "That's an order" Hulk began punching himself in the face smashing into the sides of the quinjet "No Banner!" he yelled. Slowly he transformed back into Bruce.

"Banner?" he asked touching his shoulder. Bruce turned over quickly in fear and shock pushing him away "Bruce. Relax, it's me. I'm not gonna hurt you"

"What happened to your hair?" Bruce asked Thor.

"Some crazy old man cut it off"

"It looks good. How's Tony? And the others?"

"They're fine. I assume" Shepard answered.

"What about Sokovia, and Ultron? Did we save it?"

"Bruce. Ultron... That was two years ago" Shepard answered.

"What're you saying? I've been Hulk for two years?"

"I'm afraid so"

"What the hell happened?" he asked standing up and walking to the cockpit.

"Banner, there's something you should know" Thor said standing up following after him.

"Voice activation required" the quinjet notified.

"Banner"

"Accepted. Welcome strongest Avenger"

"Uh, what?" Thor asked confused.

"Recent log"

a video played of Hulk in the quinjet as it went through a cosmic gateway to Sakaar. A projection of Grandmaster showed up in the center of the city talking about Hulk.

"You've been living in his house for awhile"

"I have?"

"You and Thor had a fight. Quite a lot has happened"

"We did? Did I win?"

"No. I won. Easily" Thor answered.

"That doesn't sound right"

"Well it's true"

"We need to figure a way off this planet. I have to get back to Earth. Make sure Natasha is alright" Shepard said turning away.

"Wear these" Thor said handing Bruce clothes.

"These are Tony's clothes. Is he here?"

"No, no, no"

"I think I'm freaking out"

"There's no reason to freak out. Everything is fine" Shepard said walking him out.

"I always felt like Hulk and I always had one hand on the wheel. This time it was like Hulk was driving and I was in the trunk"

"The important thing is that we have you back" Thor said.

"That's not it Thor. I'm saying if I turn into Hulk again, Banner may never come back out. I am stuck on an alien planet designed to stress me out"

"We aren't going to let that happen" Shepard said.

"Thank you"

"I need to go to Asgard first though. Asgard is in grave danger, we have to fight this really powerful being who also happens to be my sister-"

"That is so wrong on so many levels. I don't want to fight your sister, that's a family issue"

"Wasn't when Loki was involved" Shepard added.

"She's an evil being-"

"I don't care what she is. I'm not fighting anymore beings. I just told you if I turn into the Hulk I am never going to come back again. And you don't care"

"I'm not going to let that happen, Bruce"

"But the Hulk likes Fire. I need the Hulk"

"That's gross. You're just using me to get to the Hulk. You don't care about me"

"No. I don't even like the Hulk he just wants to smash things. I prefer you"

"Thanks"

"But to be honest when it comes to fighting powerful beings he is very powerful and useful"

"I'm powerful and useful too"

"Are you though?"

"How many PHD's does Hulk have? Zero! How many PHD's do I have? Seven!"

"Fine, you don't have to fight anyone" Thor said annoyed placing a piece of cloth over his hard to conceal his face.

"What're you doing?"

"It's a disguise"

"I'll be Tony Stark" Bruce said placing a pair of glasses on.

"No just be Bruce Banner"

"Then why'd you dress me up like Tony?"

"Because you were naked"

"Alright... I'll give you that"

"Stop that" he said as Banner adjusted his pants awkwardly.

"I'm sorry. Tony wears his pants super tight"

"Why are you being so weird?"

"I don't know! Maybe it's because I'm trapped for two years inside of a monster made me a little weird!" he said slowly turning green.

"Enough!" Shepard demanded smacking Thor upside the head.

"Why didn't he get smacked?"

"Because I don't want to get smacked back by the Hulk"

"Alright... I'll give you that"

"We need to get moving. Let's find some transport get off this planet, save Asgard from your sister, then take me back to Earth"

"Sounds good to me. Where do we find a ship to get off this planet with?" Thor asked.

"Perhaps you should come with me" 142 said attracting their attention.

"Not really in the mood for this-"

"I'm not bringing you in. I have a present for you" she said gesturing for them to follow.

"Should I just call you 142 then?" Shepard asked following.

"Valkyrie" she answered leading them off the streets.

* * *

"Who is he?" she asked referring the Banner.

"This is Bruce"

"I feel like I know you"

"I feel like I know you too"

"Look. I spent years in a haze, trying to forget my past. Just seemed like the best plan to drink and forget and die, one day"

"I was thinking you drink too much. Was going to tell you that'll kill you" Thor said with a smile.

"I'm not planning to stop drinking. But I am not turning away anymore. If I am going to die it might as well be driving my sword through that murderous hag"

"Welcome to the team" Shepard shook her hand in agreement.

"You got a name for it?"

"The Revengers" Thor said without thinking. Shepard rolled his eyes.

"Revengers?"

"I'm getting revenge. You're getting revenge. Banner, are you getting revenge?"

"I'm undecided"

"Shepard?"

"I'm going to be beating your ass if you keep asking stupid questions" he said annoyance dripping from his tone.

"I've got a peace offering" she said opening the door next to them revealing Loki chained to a chair.

"Surprise" he said unenthusiastically.

Thor threw a can at his head bouncing off as it did "Ow"

"Just making sure"

Bruce and Shepard walked in staring him down.

"So, last time we met you were trying to kill everybody. Where you at these days?" Bruce asked.

"It varies from moment to moment" he answered venomously.

Shepard delivered a hard right hook to his jaw "Just making sure it's not one of your illusions" he said innocently. Thor laughed loudly.

"Our best bet is to go through the closest gateway to city limits. We can be at Xandar then move to Asgard in say 18 months"

"That's too long"

"Did you just say Xandar?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"We'll revisit that later"

"We are going through the big one"

"The Devil's Anus?"

"What? Who's Anus?"

"To be fair I didn't know it was called that when I picked it"

"That looks like a collapsing neutron star an Einstein rosin bridge"

"Very astute, Banner" Shepard complimented with a fist bump.

"We need another ship. That'll tear mine to pieces"

"She's right. We need one that can stand the geophonic strain from the singularities" Shepard added.

"We need one that can operate without the onboard computer" Bruce pointed out.

"And we need cup holders because we're gonna die. Drinks!"

"Do I know you?"

"I feel like I know you too. It's weird"

"What do you say? You ready to go through a volatile cosmic gateway to fight the Goddess of Death?" he asked gaining a fist bump from Bruce and a nod from Shepard.

"We need a ship"

"There's two ships we could take. There's a top of the line model-"

"I don't mean to impose-" Loki began having a liquor bottle smash on the wall behind him "The Grandmaster has a great many ships. I may even have stolen the access codes to his security system"

"You finally decide to do the right thing?"

"Heavens no. I lose favor with Grandmaster when you escape. In exchange for access codes and a ship I ask for safe passage through the anus"

"You can get us into the hanger without setting off any alarms?"

"Yes I can"

"Can we just take a time out here? I just talked to him two minutes ago and he was ready to kill all of us"

"He did try to kill me"

"Me too. Many occasions. This one time when we were children he turned into a snake and he knew I loved snakes, so when I picked it up he transformed back into himself as yelled "Bargh! It's me!" then he stabbed me. We were eight, at the time"

"He's tried to kill all of us at some point or another. We don't exactly have a lot of choices right now" Shepard said.

"We need to draw the guards away from the palace"

"Why not let the beast loose"

"Shut up" Thor demanded immediately.

"You guys have a beast?" she asked excitedly.

"There's no beast. He's just being stupid. We're going to start a revolution"

"Revolution?"

"I'll explain later"

"Who's this guy again?"

"I'll explain later"

* * *

Valkyrie flew her ship behind Thor's blasting the Grandmaster's men giving chase "Nice shot" Bruce said from the passenger seat"

"Thanks"

"Open the doors" Shepard ordered through his radio.

"Alright" Thor said to himself pressing the button to open the doors on the belly of the ship. Valkyrie opened the cockpit of her ship peeling the glass back over them as she flew underneath him.

"I hope that you're tougher than you look!"

"Why?!" Bruce asked confused.

Valkyrie launched Bruce up into the ship, he grabbed onto the ledge barely stopping himself from falling out the other side.

Topaz and two men flew their ships behind the two of them firing at them both.

"Shouldn't we be shooting back or something?!" Banner asked struggling to walk to the cockpit.

"Yes we should. Where are the guns on this thing?" Thor asked looking around at the buttons before him.

"There aren't any! It's a leisure vessel!" she answered.

"Ugh... Don't touch anything" Thor grimaced.

Valkyrie's ship was hit by blasts from Topaz's guns. Valkyrie grabbed her sword and climbed onto the roof "Come on! This thing is gonna-" the ship was hit again exploding.

"No!" Thor and Bruce yelled in unison.

Valkyrie landed onto their cockpit with a grunt of pain.

"Get inside!" Thor yelled.

"In a minute!" She yelled back jumping onto the ship behind them, impaling her blade into the roof of the ship slowing her down as she slid across it, causing the ship to descend rapidly as she jumped off onto another ship.

"Where is Shepard?" Bruce asked concerned.

"Your 9:00" he answered back as he slammed his shoulder through the enemy ship's cockpit, dragging him from the vehicle and hovering with his boot repulsors. Landing on a ship underneath Thor and Bruce, he sliced a vent open with his sword dropping a grenade into the opening.

"I should probably go help. Here take the wheel!" Thor said standing from his seat.

"I don't know how to fly one of these things!"

"You're a scientist use one of your PHD's"

"None of them are for flying alien spaceships!"

Shepard entered the ship as Thor dropped out onto the roof of another ship yanking a piece off the thrusters and throwing it back inside it causing the thruster to sputter and light aflame.

"Let me take a look" Shepard said approaching Bruce.

"Be my guest. I don't know what the hell I am doing"

"There's got to be a gun on this thing right?"

"This one looks like a gun"

"Push it!"

Bruce pushed the button causing multicolored lights to shine through the ship with fireworks firing out the back and music blaring "It's my birthday!" on repeat. Topaz was blinded by the fireworks causing her to crash into a wrecked ship exploding on impact.

"Ya!" Bruce cheered in excitement.

"That worked better than I expected" Shepard said with a confused expression.

Valkyrie and Thor jumped into the ship simultaneously through opposite doors.

"Guys! We're coming up on the Devils Anus" Bruce called back as the doors sealed.

"Here we go!" Valkyrie yelled excitedly as they strapped themselves into the seats with her taking Bruce's place in the pilot seat.

* * *

"I never thought I'd be back here" Valkyrie said looking at Asgard as flames projected smoke up from the buildings.

"Thought it'd be a lot nicer. Not that it's not nice but it's on fire"

"There heat signatures, clumped together. She's coming for them" Valkyrie said pointed to the red highlighted area of the holographic mountain.

"Drop me at the palace. I will draw her away"

"And get yourself killed?" Valkyrie asked.

"Those people trapped down there are all that matters. While I keep Hella busy, I need you three to help evacuate the civilians from Asgard"

"He's right, once they reach safety we can figure a way to defeat Hella. Maybe even trap her here while we come up with a plan" Shepard explained.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Bruce asked.

"I have a man on the ground" Thor explained.

Landing on the palace grounds Shepard placed a weapon from the back of the ship down on the floor "There, now the ship has a gun" Thor said excitedly.

"I can take it from here" she said resting on her knees.

"Here. I found these in the armory" Thor said placing down the Valkyrie uniform "Good luck"

"Your majesty. Don't die" she said as he stepped off. The ship took off.

Heimdall led the people across the bridge meeting Hella's great wolf standing at the end of it. It began charging them "Turn back!" Heimdall yelled to the others.

Valkyrie fired the gun from the ship at the wolf causing it to stagger briefly.

"Heimdall! The sword!" Yelled Hella's executioner holding out his hand with an army of undead warriors at his back.

"This stupid dog won't die!" Valkyrie yelled.

Shepard walked to the edge of the ship watching the dog run towards the innocents "I'll handle it. Bruce, stay with the ship. No heroics today" he ordered sternly as he dropped out of the ship.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"What he does best. Kick ass"

Shepard unsheathed his sword embedding it into the back of the wolf dropping staggering it "COME ON YOU FILTHY MONGREL! I'M RIGHT HERE!" he yelled pulling the sword out and stabbing it into his eye. The wolf howled in rage tossing him from it's back onto the bridge. Using his repulsors he slid away from the beast as it attempted to crush him under its paw "Really wish this wasn't an undead wolf" he sighed standing back up.

"That thing will tear him to pieces!" Valkyrie said to Bruce confused.

"He knows. I'm not going to let that happen" he said standing up from the pilot seat "Everything is going to be fine now. You wanted to know who I am"

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see!" he yelled jumping from the ship.

The wolf charged at Shepard who stood his ground, prepared for the beasts assault. Banner smacked down onto the bridge face first. He appeared to be dead. The wolf stopped nudging him with his nose curiously. Growling he began charging at Shepard again.

"Just couldn't resist, could you?" he said with a smirk.

The wolf stopped a few inches from Shepard being pulled backwards and thrown by Hulk. Hulk dragged the Wolf off the bridge into the water.

Shepard and Heimdall began fighting side by side protecting the civilians from the warriors "Who in blazes are you?"

"Commander Shepard. Friends with Thor" he added kicking a warrior off the bridge. Heimdall was hit in the knee with a blade and kicked to the floor. Suddenly the warrior was blasted into pieces.

"Hey man. I'm Korg, we're going to jump on that spaceship and get out of here. Want to come?"

A large spaceship approached the dock through the fog revealing Loki standing on the edge of the platform "Your savior is here!" he yelled "Everyone on that ship now" he ordered approaching Heimdall and Shepard "Welcome home"

"I saw you coming"

"Course you did"

Shepard smirked behind his mask wielding his blade he charged the army approaching them. Suddenly a large bolt of lightning struck the palace followed by a lightning imbued Thor landed on the bridge dispatching dozens of warriors with a single attack in different directions. Hulk tossed the wolf off the edge of the waterfall of Asgard sending him into the void. With the majority of Hella's warriors destroyed she landed on the bridge anger clearly shown in her eyes.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Loki asked looking at Thor.

"Minor inconvenience"

Shepard and Valkyrie joined the two of them facing Hella.

"I think we should disband the Revengers" Thor said turning to them.

"Hit her with a lightning blast" Loki said pointing.

"I just hit her with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning it did nothing"

"We just need to hold her off until everyone's onboard"

"It wont end there. Every second she is on Asgard she grows more powerful. She'll hunt us down"

"So we have to stop her here and now" Shepard clarified.

"So what do we do?"

"I'm not doing get help" Loki said to Thor.

"Asgard's not a place. It's people. Loki, this was never about stopping Ragnarok this was about causing Ragnarok. Surtur's crown, in the vault!"

"Bold move, brother. Even for me" he smiled turning to run the other direction.

"Shall we?" Thor asked.

"After you"

Shepard wielded his staff in his left hand and his sword in his right hand "Let's get started"

Thor leaped at Hella, she launched two swords at him. Thor caught them in the air swinging them left and right at her as she blocked with her arm. Lunging for her chest she leaned backwards causing him to fly over her and fall onto his back. Valkyrie swung her blade into her arm, with the other arm Hella threw her over her shoulder. Shepard smacked her in the face with his staff and deflected a blade flying towards him with his sword rolling around her as three more embedded themselves into the bridge. Thor kicked her in the chest sending her back a few feet. Launching her blades at him she knocked him off the bridge, Thor barely caught himself on it's edge as Loki flew the spaceship they arrived in overhead.

"This is madness" he laughed to himself.

Hella kicked Thor away from her while throwing multiple blades at Shepard as he easily deflected them. Hella stopped attacking staring Shepard down with a small smile on her face.

"Mind telling me who you are?" she asked.

"I'm Commander Shepard" he answered warily awaiting her attack.

"What pray tell brought you to Asgard to face me? You are no Asgardian. I have no quarrel with you. Leave now and I shall spare your pathetic world from domination"

"Well, I usually don't allow people to just go around killing innocents or invading other worlds with an army of undead warriors she rose desecrating their graves in the process. Just a hobby of mine"

"Your hobby will get you killed"

"It helps pass the time"

"Was that a joke?" she asked unamused.

"Sounded better in my head" he answered before she launched a spear at him. Shepard jumped over it firing a bullet from both his pistols at Hella as he soared through the air.

Thor threw Hella over his shoulder flipping through the air she launched blades at Valkyrie and Shepard who easily deflected them. Using a spear she pierced Thor's chest throwing him onto his back "Go now!" he yelled to Heimdall as the ship lifted off the bridge. Hella impaled it onto a large spike coming out from the water. Her undead Legion began climbing out from the water and climbing up onto the ship.

"For Asgard!" screamed her executioner as he leapt from the ship firing two M16 assault rifles demolishing the spike impaling the ship and all the warriors charging at him "Hella!" he yelled grabbing her attention blasting through more of her warriors. Hella shook her head in annoyance and impaled him on the edge of one of her swords.

Loki ran through the vault picking up Surtur's crown and running towards the Eternal Flame. Hesitating for a second at the sight of the Tesseract he continued placing it into the flame "In the Eternal Flame, you are reborn" he said before running for the exit as quick as possible.

Valkyrie crawled on the floor trying to escape Hella as Thor struggled to get up. Shepard continued to fight blocking weapons from every direction keeping her attention on him. Slowly becoming tired he began to falter lowering down onto one knee.

"Hella! Enough!" Thor said standing back up "You want Asgard. It's yours"

"Whatever game your playing, it won't work. You can't defeat me"

"Oh, I know. But he can" he said pointing towards the Palace as it lit ablaze with Surtur breaking off the roof.

"No" she breathed in disbelief.

Shepard stabbed her in the back with one of her swords as Valkyrie landed on her back pressing her into the bridge sliding away from her Thor slammed his fist down into her with lighting blasting her and a small portion of the bridge into the water.

"I am your reckoning Asgard!" Surtur yelled slamming his sword into the vacated city.

"We're fulfilling the prophecy" Thor said watching.

"I hate this prophecy" Valkyrie sighed.

"Me too. But we have no choice, Surtur destroys Asgard which destroys Hella so that our people may live. All that's left now is-"

"BIG MONSTER!" Hulk yelled leaping at Surtur smacking into him staggering him.

"No, Hulk you moron! Hulk stop!" Thor yelled angrily. Surtur threw Hulk back onto the bridge.

"For once in your life, Hulk. Don't smash!" Shepard ordered.

"Big monster!" he said pointing with disappointment in his eyes.

"Let's go!" Thor yelled.

"Fine!" he yelled back running towards them grabbing them he jumped into the ship as it left.

Asgard exploded as the ship carried them away "It's gone" Thor said sadly.

"Asgard is not a place. It's a people" Heimdall reminded him.

"I suppose we should come up with a destination. Any suggestions?" Thor asked sitting down in the chair turning to Shepard.

"I'd recommend Earth be our first stop. I hate to think what Natasha is going to do to me when I get back" he said cringing.

"Earth it is"

* * *

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Earth?" Loki asked.

"Of course, Earth loves me. Shepard has to make sure it hasn't been destroyed by aliens after all"

"Let me rephrase that. Do you really think it's a good idea to bring me back to Earth?"

"Probably not to be honest. No need to worry brother. I feel like everything is going to work out fine" he answered.

A large ship rose up in front of them as he ended his sentence.

"You just couldn't leave it alone could you?" Loki asked with a deep sigh


	25. Guardians Of The Galaxy

**The Guardians are here! Enjoy. It goes without saying that this chapter will have spoilers for the Guardian of the Galaxy movies, please don't complain to me that I spoiled a movie for you when I provide the warning at the beginning of the chapter. You're already reading the story why don't you read the warnings! Thank you.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: Guardians Of The Galaxy**

"So you are from Earth?" Korg asked Shepard as they walked down the hallway.

"That's right. I may not have been born there but I consider it my home"

"Where were you born?"

"Kree lab"

Korg winced "Sorry man, didn't mean to bring that up"

"It's nothing. I'm over it by now, can't change it even if I wasn't anyway"

"So what's your rush to get back home?"

"I... Someone I care deeply for is there and she thinks I died in the explosion that sent me to Sakaar"

"An explosion?"

"Long story-what the hell is that?" Shepard asked seeing a large ship outside the glass.

"Uh... bad news I'd guess" Korg shrugged.

The ship was soon joined by thousands more identical ships behind it their lights giving away their positions in the darkness of space around them with one large dreadnought in the center of the fleet. They all began firing pods at the ship latching onto the side.

"Korg, get Thor we need to get this ship out of here before we get torn apart!" Shepard ordered drawing his pistol and firing at the Kree coming out of the pods.

"You got it Commander!" he yelled running towards where Thor had been sleeping the past few days in space. Shepard charged the Kree soldiers with his staff in hand disarming the closet one to him. Smacking him with the right side of the staff he turned the Kree around slinging his left arm around his neck and using him as a shield from the bullets flying his way. Drawing his rifle into his right hand he fired into the hoard of soldiers attacking him.

A loud roar tore through the air as Hulk barreled through the Kree turning their attention towards him in time to see their impending doom.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Valkyrie asked with her blade in hand.

"Kree fleet is boarding our ship. I imagine they weren't expecting to find a lone ship out here and want to know what we're up to-" An explosion rang out through the halls.

"We're never going to escape a fleet that size"

"Agreed. Any ideas?" Shepard asked.

Lightning launched Kree soldiers behind them out from their hiding spots "I recommend we evacuate through one of the nearby gateways" Thor said as he approached them.

"How long would it take for us to get there?"

"Too long. We need a way to keep them distracted long enough to allow us to pass through one" Valkyrie answered.

"Is the condor still operational?"

"Just barely"

"Thor I need you and Valkyrie to start evacuating your people to the escape pods. Once we reach the gateway, start launching them towards the gateway immediately. Wherever it takes them has got to be safer than here. Take the Condor to make sure the fleet doesn't blow the escape pods away"

"Closest gateway will take us to Knowhere. They'll have no reason to follow"

"I'm counting on it. Go now!" Shepard ordered firing at the Kree coming from behind them.

He kicked over a large post damaged from all the fighting and began using it as cover while Hulk kept the area behind him clear.

"We have a problem, Commander!" Korg reported.

"What now?!"

"The Condor is ready to go, but we can't get the airlock to seal from here. We need someone to manually seal it so we can open the hangar without venting the crew" he explained.

"Where!?" he demanded throwing a grenade back at the Kree.

"Hangar bay 4E" Thor answered.

"I'm on it. Hulk! Get your ass to the hangar, I'm this ship isn't going to last much longer like this"

"Puny blue men need smashing!"

"I'm not asking! Do it now!"

Hulk snorted in annoyance "Fine. I'll smash blue men later" he ran through a nearby wall heading towards the hangar Thor was in. Shepard shook his head with mild amusement.

"I'm on my way, just sit tight"

Arriving at the hangar bay he saw Kree soldiers trying to get past Hulk and Thor as they defended the ship from their assault. Shepard pressed the button sealing the airlock as he ran past it "Everyone on the ship now! I'm venting the hangar" he explained.

Hulk and Thor ran into the Condor as more troops entered the hangar. Shepard pressed his hand down on the pad causing everything not bolted down to be dragged out into the vacuum of space.

"We're free! Pods are away!" Valkyrie reported.

"Make sure everyone makes it through!" Shepard ordered quickly exiting the room.

"What about you?" Thor asked.

"I'm ramming this ship into their dreadnaught" he answered as he entered the bridge.

"That's insane! How are you getting out?" Korg asked.

"Are there anymore escape pods left?"

"Yes, yes, there's one left in engineering"

Shepard's display scanned through the ship as he directed it towards the dreadnaught "Is there anyone else aboard?"

"Not to worry, Commander. I made sure everyone made it away safely" Loki reported from inside the ship.

"You better make sure you're on that pod when I get there. I'm not waiting around"

"Understood-" an explosion cut him off.

"Loki? Loki! Report!"

"All of the pods made it through the gateway. What do you need from us?" Thor asked.

"Get to the gateway!"

"What? We're not leaving you behind!"

"Someone needs to make sure those civilians stay safe. Go!"

Thor hesitated as he looked at the rest of them aboard the ship before sighing deeply "Fine, you better be right behind us" Thor relented as they flew towards the gateway.

"The enemy has breached the engineering deck! I'm on my way now, meet me there!" Loki reported.

"I'm on my way" Shepard turned running towards the direction of engineering.

Shepard shot his way through dozens of Kree before arriving at engineering. Loki was pinned down underneath a pillar trapping his arm to the ground. Shepard cut the column in half with his sword, then lifted it off with Loki's help. Grabbing him he lifted him off the ground "Augh! Watch the arm!" he hissed.

Guiding him into the escape pod he turned at the sound of an explosion tearing off part of the ship near them pulling him away from the pod he grabbed the corner of the wall to his right stopping himself from being sucked into space.

"Commander!" Loki yelled as he held onto the seat he was strapped into "Shepard!"

Shepard looked towards the button to launch the escape pod and slammed his fist into it throwing Loki's pod out of the ship towards the gateway. Explosions tore through the ship launching him out of the side and into the vacuum of space. Shepard looked around frantically trying to figure a way out of this situation. Using his thrusters he was able to propel himself away from the ship as the dreadnaught fired at it blowing it apart.

Shepard began to lose consciousness as he slipped through another gateway on the opposite side from the one Thor and Loki passed through. shortly before blacking out he felt something hard collide with his back rippling pain through his entire body.

* * *

"Know you will all know the penance for defying me" Thanos said as he hovered thousands of feet above a large white city with ships surrounding him.

"Surrender now or we will fire upon you!"

"You shouldn't have kept this locked away from me" Thanos added with a devious grin on his face. Raising his fist covered by a gold gauntlet and a purple and orange stone in two of the slots, he started descending towards the ground at an incredible speed slamming his fist into the ground an explosion of purple energy blasted all buildings and ships caught in the blast to dust.

Shepard awoke startled by the sound of blades grinding against each other. Looking around the room he noticed a tall muscular man with green skin and many red tattoos spreading from his chest all the way to his arms and face. He had no hair and bright blue eyes. He held two blades in his hand, using one to sharpen the other.

"Your finally awake. What were you-" the man was interrupted by Shepard tackling him to the ground with his pistol pointed at his head.

"Who are you? Are you with the Kree? Where's the rest of the survivors from my ship?" Shepard demanded.

"I am not Kree!" he yelled in anger kicking him off his chest. Lifting him from the ground he slammed him into the wall using his arm to keep him pinned to the wall "Your name. Now"

"Commander Johnathan Shepard. Mind telling me your name and where I am?"

"That's Drax, and to answer your other question your aboard my ship" a tall man clearly human with light brown hair and green eyes wearing a red trench coat with two awkward looking weapons on both sides of his hips.

"Mind getting Drax to let me down then? I apologize about earlier, I was still in a daze from when my ship was attacked. Why don't we call it even before someone gets hurt?"

"Ha! I could crush you with one finger!"

"I wouldn't do that Drax, just take a look under your arm" the other man suggested. Following the suggestion he noticed Shepard held a pistol just under his arm pointed at a lethal part of the body.

"Wise. You offer one hand yet arm the other" Drax noted as he let him go.

"Now that we have that out of the way we can make proper introductions. I'm Peter Quill, though you'd probably know me better as Star-Lord" Peter explained extending his hand to him.

"Commander Johnathan Shepard. Shepard or Commander is fine. I can't say I've ever heard of you"

"You've never heard of Quill? What rock have you been living under for the past decade?" Drax asked surprised.

"While I am also surprised you haven't heard of me, I'm sure you've heard of us as a whole. We're the Guardians of the Galaxy. I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew" he said motioning with his hand for him to follow.

Following Peter out of the room he found the ship to be rather small for what he expected. There were several people in the cockpit of the ship, sporting five chairs behind the glass as the ship passed through a colorful nebula.

"Looks like our unscheduled passenger is awake" a small raccoon in an orange jumpsuit said while he focused on repairing what he had in his hand.

"That's Rocket, he's our tech man. No one in the galaxy can put together a super weapon out of complete garbage faster than he can"

"I am Groot" a tall brown treelike man greeted with a slight bow.

"He is Groot"

"Nice to meet you, Groot. I am Shepard"

"I am Groot"

Shepard gave Peter a strange look "That's the only thing he can say" he offered with a shrug.

"A new person! I love meeting new people! What's your name? Mine is Mantis. Can I touch you?" a woman wearing green robes that were cut at the legs and arms, she had dark brown shoulderleagnth hair and almost completely black eyes with a small amount of white at the corners. She had defined pink lips and two mantis-like antennae protruding from her forehead.

"Mantis, ease up. The man has just met you and doesn't even know what that means"

"Oh, I am sorry. When I touch people I can feel their emotions. Also control them sometimes"

Shepard raised his eyebrow, instead of extending his hand to her he simply nodded in acknowledgement "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"This is my fiancé, Gamora" Peter introduced gesturing to the woman sitting in the pilots chair. She had light green skin and Purple shoulderleagnth hair with brown eyes and wore light armor.

"Try anything and I'll throw you out of the airlock"

"She doesn't like meeting new people" Peter pointed out.

"I gathered that"

"Finally, this is Nebula. Gamora's sister. She also doesn't like new people"

"So long as you don't try to harm anyone I will refrain from ripping your arms off"

"Thanks" Shepard said with a shake of his head. Nebula had light blue skin and no hair. Her left arm looked to be made completely of metal and had some metal attachment over her left eye. She wore a purple jumpsuit and a permanent frown on her face.

"That's the whole gang" Peter said spreading his arms out gesturing to the rest of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, but I still don't know who any of you are or where I am"

"You've never heard of us? Where have you been for the past decade?" Rocket asked invoking a laugh from Drax.

"That's what I said to him two minutes ago!" he yelled roaring with laughter.

"Why don't you start by telling us what you remember?" Gamora offered.

"I was on a ship we had just escaped Asgard as it exploded and we came under attack from an entire fleet of Kree. I was able to get everyone off the ship in the escape pods. They all traveled through a cosmic gateway to a place called Knowhere. The ship exploded propelling me in the opposite direction. Last thing I remember was hitting something hard before passing out.

"That hard thing you hit was us" Mantis said with a bright smile.

"You were a fly on our windshield" Peter added.

"Plz, Peter no one understands your Terran metaphors"

"People from Terra do" he argued.

"Yes, and people who know nothing of space travel could end up millions of light-years away in another galaxy" Gamora offered sarcastically.

"What's Terra?" Shepard asked.

"It's where I'm from. Not many people from around here make it out there very often, Andromeda is too far away from the Milky Way after all" Peter explained.

Shepard looked like his head was about to explode "Let me get this straight. I am currently in the Andromeda Galaxy?" Shepard asked rubbing his head with his right hand trying to offset the impending headache.

"Yes, where did you think you were?" Peter asked.

"Who'd have thought your device would actually work, Stark" he whispered to himself "This is going to sound crazy" he said shaking his head.

"Here's an idea, how about Mantis reads your emotions while you tell us. That way we'll know your not lying" Nebula said tossing a knife in her hand.

"Great idea. Mantis, do you mind?" Peter asked.

"Not at all" she practically yelled with excitement. Mantis approached Shepard placing her hand on his shoulder as he took a deep sigh preparing to explain.

"I'm from Earth. The planet you keep calling Terra"

Peter looked to Mantis for any sign of him lying. Mantis shook her head.

"How'd you end up here? Terra- Earth doesn't have ships that can travel out this far" Gamora asked interested.

"Earth was attacked. Someone known as Ebony Maw led a small attack force of Kree to the planet in search of the Mind Stone. One of the six Infinity Stones his master Thanos is after-"

"Thanos? Where is Thanos?! How do you know about him?" Drax immediately shot up.

"Ease up, big guy. He's never met Thanos. We already know he's somewhere in Andromeda" Rocket explained.

"Please, continue" Drax insisted.

"My friend Tony Stark created a warp drive using data on the Bifrost a friend of mine, Thor uses to get around from planet to planet to try and get us to this galaxy to stop Thanos from gaining the Infinity Stones he's yet to acquire. We ended up using it as a bomb to take down Ebony Maw aboard his ship. I stayed behind to detonate it after the timer was fried. I woke up in a place called Sakaar. I was forced to fight in a tournament by a mad man calling himself the Grandmaster. Thankfully I found Thor and an old friend Bruce Banner there to help me. We were able to escape Sakaar with the help of Valkyrie, the same woman who captured the three of us, and Loki, Thor's brother"

"That's quite a story" Rocket said with disbelief "If not for Mantis over here I wouldn't even believe it ether"

"What happened next?" Peter urged.

"We arrived on Asgard and evacuated all the civilians onto a ship Korg brought. He was a friend we released from Sakaar. Once we did that we allow some giant demon from hell named Surtur. He destroyed Asgard as we escaped killing Hella. She was Thor's sister who was much too powerful for us to take down on our own. She had been planned to use her undead army to invade all existing realms. After we escaped we were headed back to Earth to pick up the rest of my team known as the Avengers. Instead we were attacked by a Kree fleet. Thankfully we got everyone out alright"

"Do you know where Thanos is?" Peter asked.

"No, I only know that he was planning to get the Infinity Stones and I learned of the location of two of them"

"Where?"

"Xandar is where the Power Stone is held, the other is in the possession of someone called the collector. Thor let me know that after we learned of the Aether housing the Reality Stone"

"We were the ones who made sure Thanos failed to get the Power Stone. It's locked up safely on Xandar by the Nova Corps"

"I don't care if it's in a black hole, Thanos will get to it"

"What makes you say that?"

"Asgard was holding the Tesseract. The Tesseract housed the Space Stone. That stone would allow him to transport himself anywhere at will"

"Nova Corps vault could be breached without them even knowing" Gamora sighed.

"Exactly. I don't know for sure that he even has the Space Stone. But I can pretty much guarantee the stone wasn't destroyed when Asgard went up in flames"

"We need to find the collector before Thanos does and get the stone from him. Do you have any idea where the other Infinity Stones are?" Peter asked.

"Yes. The Mind Stone is being safely guarded by one of my Avengers. I don't know about the Time or Soul Stone though. We'll have to hope Thanos doesn't have those as well"

"How do we know he's telling the truth?" Drax asked "He could be a spy sent by Thanos to throw us off his trail and hand the stones over to him"

"I already told you I know where two of the stones are, what more do you want from me? If I was with Thanos I would've just kept my mouth shut and asked you to take me to Xandar"

"Mantis, go ahead" Peter nodded towards her.

"Yay!" she squealed excitedly.

"Go ahead with what?" Shepard asked confused.

Mantis's eyes became completely filled with black with a sharp gasp "What're you feeling?" Peter asked kneeling to her level.

"I feel... Anger, regret, sadness, pain. A lot of pain, I feel..." Mantis smiled warmly "Love" her face turned immediately to one of mortification "And fear of that love"

"Nothing that points directly to a liar" Nebula noted.

"What did she mean by fear of love?" Gamora asked confused.

"He's scared of what she'll do to him when he sees her again" Mantis clarified.

"I take it you messed up?" Peter smirked.

"I tossed her out of a spaceship to blow myself up and ended up being transported to Sakaar. She thinks I'm dead. Natasha's gonna be pissed to see me" Shepard said cringing at the thought.

"We should have a talk with the Collector, we're not letting someone like that have an Infinity Stone"

"We should make a stop by Xandar as well and warn the Nova Corps about Thanos's plan" Nebula offered.

"Good idea. Gamora, plot a course for Xandar we need to check that vault to make sure no one has absconded with the stone" Peter ordered.

"You got it"

"Finally! Our hunt for Thanos has bore fruit!" Drax yelled.

"Not yet big guy, we still have to find him first" Rocket lectured.

"I am Groot"

"Waiting for him to come take it is a horrible plan! What if he takes all the other five stones beforehand? We'll be demolished instantly!"

"I am Groot"

"I know you're just trying to help, but leave the planning to the adults"

* * *

The ship arrived on Xandar shortly after they began their journey "This is it" Gamora announced over her shoulder as she moved the ship into position over the landing pad.

"Feel free to enjoy yourselves while we're here. The Commander and I will check out the vault" Peter instructed.

"Sounds good to me!" Rocket grinned.

"This is Xandar?" Shepard asked.

"Yup beautiful and law-abiding Xandar" Nebula said with a groan.

"It reminds me of Earth. Looks slightly different obviously, we don't have any spaceships"

"Let's go talk to Rael"

"Who's that?" Shepard asked as they stepped off the ship.

"Irina Rael holds the esteemed rank of Nova Prime, Commander of the Nova Corps and pioneer behind the peace treaty with the Kree"

"So she's the one to talk to about the Power Stone"

"Precisely, she's the only one I trust with this" he explained as they walked into the building.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Captain Quill?" a tall woman with white hair and the marks of age adorning her features followed by two armed men.

"Mrs. Rael, I am here on business with my associate Commander Shepard" he said gesturing to him with his hand "He has some information you'd like to hear"

"Pleasure to meet you Commander" she said extending her hand to him.

"Pleasure is mine. Where are you holding the Power Stone?" he asked getting right to the point. Rael glared sternly at Peter silently asking her question.

"Don't look at me. He knew about it before I even indulged him about it. Mantis checked him out, we can trust him" he said with a shrug.

"How do you know about the stone?" she asked cautiously

"One of Thanos's servants was sent to Earth to take the Mind Stone from us, we stopped him and his partner. He surrendered to us and has been fully cooperating with us as he promised"

"What did you give him in exchange?"

"Nothing. He was someone I knew from a long time ago. I knew he could be redeemed, he told me of the stone here on Xandar and I recently confirmed his info on the Reality Stone being held by the Collector by a friend of mine by the name of Thor"

"Mind telling me where Earth is?"

"It's what you call Terra"

"Ah, then mind me asking how you arrived here with the Guardians of the Galaxy?"

"I can answer that!" Peter said excitedly "He blew himself up with a bomb on a spaceship over Earth then was transported to Sakaar by the same bomb somehow and then ended up on our windshield"

"More or less, that's the important parts" Shepard sighed shaking his head.

"What information do you have that I might be interested in?"

"You mean besides the fact that Thanos knows about where both the stones I told you about are? Thanos has some group called the Black Order working for him. I don't know much about them, only that the member that attacked us on Earth was called Ebony Maw and he died in the explosion"

"Is that all?"

"No, there was an enormous fleet or Kree ships that attacked the ship I was on. Everyone aboard escaped to someplace called Knowhere, sadly I was thrown in a different direction"

"Knowhere is the location of the Collector"

"Then that's our next stop" Shepard said looking at Peter.

"Let's make sure the Power Stone is safe first"

"Agreed"

"I can assure you it is locked deep in our most secure vault"

"You'll excuse me if I don't take that as reassurance. I want to see that it's still there"

"That's not going to happen-"

"You owe me one Rael, the least you could do is show us the stone so we know for sure. Thanos is looking for all six of the stones after all"

Rael contemplated the request for a moment "I'll agree if you can show us where that fleet is. Thanos has brokered the help of the Kree against us and I don't want to be taken by surprise when they attack us here"

"I can do that. Based upon the gateway he fell through onto our ship I can guess that it's right about here" Peter explained as he brought up a holographic map of the Galaxy.

"Excellent. I'll send a fleet out there at once to handle the situation. Hopefully their some of the Kree who still hold up the treaty"

"The Stone" Shepard insisted.

"Of course, right this way"

Rael led them through a large complex to where the stone was being held. Opening the container for the orb holding the stone she opened the orb long enough for them to see it "See? Safe and secure" she assured placing it back into the vault.

"Good. Don't let that thing ever leave this place, Thanos already has one of the stones we don't need him getting more" Shepard sighed in relief.

"You can count on us"

"We should get going, Knowhere is some distance from here"

"Agreed, hopefully I can find my friends there"

"We can always hope" Peter agreed.

* * *

"People built a city out of a giant head floating in space?"

"They began mining it actually, the city just kind of built around it" Rocket explained.

"And here I thought I had seen enough strange things in my lifetime"

"Here we are, the Collector is just in here" Gamora pointed at the building in front of them.

"Excellent-" Suddenly a man came flying out of the building wall onto the ground groaning as slid to a stop.

"Commander, meet the Collector" Mantis said gesturing to the man on the floor while Drax was rolling on the floor with laughter.

"You have something we need"

"Pleasure to see you all again. You have a new face with you as well" he said from the ground.

"WE AREN'T DONE YET!" yelled a man as he came out from the building he picked up the Collector by his throat "Where is the stone!?" he demanded.

"Thor?" Shepard asked with a small smile on his face. Stopping momentarily Thor looked at Shepard before letting a smile sneak onto his face "Shepard!" he yelled practically tackling him to the ground letting the Collector fall on his back.

"I'm glad to see you too" Shepard groaned out from the floor.

"We thought you were dead! What happened to you? We all made it through the gateway, but you weren't in the pod with Loki"

"The ship blew up and threw me into another gateway, I ended up landing on their ship" he said gesturing to the others behind him. Peter gave a small wave.

"Who are they?"

"Pretty much the Avengers of the Andromeda Galaxy" he explained.

"Who's the Avengers?" Gamora asked.

"We are!" Thor yelled excitedly "Though there are more of us on Earth. I have to go tell the others your alive!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Bruce asked gesturing to the Collector standing back up again as he exited the building.

"Bruce! Shepard's alive!"

"I could hear you inside the building just as well as I can now. Good to see you Commander"

"Likewise Doctor Banner. How'd you get back that way?"

"Hulk cried when we thought you were dead. That kinda brought me back out"

"Who's the Hulk?" Gamora asked confused.

"Someone I don't like introducing to people"

"Enough said" Shepard agreed approaching the Collector "I hear you have an Infinity Stone"

"Not anymore I don't, as I told your friends here. Someone stole it from me"

"Who?"

"There was two of them. I don't remember their names exactly, one of them called himself Corvus and the other called herself Midnight"

"Do you know where they are?"

"If I did I'd be getting back my stone"

"Must be people working for Thanos" Thor concluded.

"We need to keep the rest of the stones out of his hands. Where's Loki?"

"One moment" Thor said flying off in the opposite direction of them.

"Is he always like that?" Nebula asked.

"Pretty much" Bruce answered.

Landing back next to them with Loki in hand he smiled at them "Here he is"

"Commander? I thought you were dead"

"People should really stop assuming that. Even when I think I am dead I keep coming back"

"Was there something specific you wanted from me?"

"Where's the Tesseract?"

"What makes you think I have it?" Shepard just glared hard at him "Because you know everything, right. Well I do have it, it's safely locked away in the ship we chartered from here. We're planning to go to Earth with it and get the rest of the Avengers so we can stop Thanos from getting anymore Stones"

"Then let's get going we need to ensure they're secure" Peter said walking back to his ship "Meet us outside Knowhere" he called back.

"I suppose we should let the others know I'm not dead" Shepard said with a smirk as they walked towards their own ship.

* * *

"You could've been slightly more excited to see me" Shepard groaned rubbing his cheek as Valkyrie cracked her knuckles.

"You could've made it easier on all of us and just gotten in the escape pod with Loki" she countered.

"Fair enough. Thankfully I ended up making a few new friends" Shepard smirked gesturing the Peter and his team as they entered the room.

"How did you guys charter a ship this large? Where'd you even get the money for it?" Gamora asked amazed.

"We could fit a hundred of our ships in this thing" Peter agreed.

"The Collector was kind enough to get us this ship in exchange for not breaking him in half" Thor explained.

"How generous of him" Rocket scoffed.

"He wasn't being generous. He was being a coward" Drax said looking at Rocket like he was an idiot.

"One day I am going to teach you sarcasm Drax, even if it's the last thing I do"

"What's the plan now? I checked with the Nova Corps on Xandar, the Power Stone is secure for now. We have the Tesseract aboard this ship, we need to keep it out of Thanos's hands. He already has possession of at least two maybe even three Infinity Stones" Shepard explained.

"I suggest we follow the same plan as before and head to Earth to get the rest of the Avengers for this mission" Thor answered.

"Normally I'd agree, but with that Kree fleet in our way there isn't any possible way to make it past them" Shepard sighed in annoyance.

"We could use the Tesseract to open a portal to Earth" Loki offered gathering everyone's attention "Just an idea"

A sudden beeping grabbed their attention as Peter reached for his communicator "It's Rael"

"Answer it. Thanos may have just made his move" Shepard instructed.

"Star-Lord" he answered as a holographic image of her appeared on the device.

"Captain Quill, the Nova Corps has need of your particular skills once again"

"What seems to be the trouble? Thanos?"

"Thankfully, the Mad Titan is not the subject of today's catastrophe" Rael answered as a holographic image of the Kree dreadnought appeared on it.

"That's the ship that attacked us yesterday" Shepard pointed out.

"Indeed. I sent a fleet of Nova Corps ships to apprehend them. They refused to surrender, we offered them the chance to reconsider as we outnumbered them substantially. That giant circle on the face of the ship ignited with a strange white flame before exploding outward destroying the entire fleet of our ships and their own as well"

"I take it you want us to take down this dreadnought?"

"Indeed. But this superweapon of unknown origin isn't the real problem. Our ships didn't even react to the weapon priming, it was as if they never noticed it at all"

"That's strange. Why would they just let themselves die from something they could've easily avoided?" Nebula asked confused.

"That's what I'm hoping you'll find out for me. I need you to board that ship and disable it's superweapon so we can land our troops aboard and take down their forces. Hopefully we can discover who's leading them"

"Thanos sounds like he might be aboard, he's the only one I know who would blow up his own ships to take down the enemy. That's certainly not a Kree tactic" Gamora noted.

"Then we need to be quick to apprehend or terminate him. Let me know if you need anything, I'll provide what I can spare"

"Understood"

"How the hell are we going to get on that ship without being blown away?" Bruce asked.

"I am Groot"

"Rocket has a what?!" Gamora asked annoyed.

"I have a stealth drive I was working on so we could pass through undesirable places without being torn apart by the locals. I suppose we could use it to get out ship aboard"

"Sounds like a plan" Thor said excitedly.

"Is this model to scale?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. what're you thinking, Commander?" Rael answered skeptically.

"The wreckage of your ships. They're going to prove difficult to circumvent, the only ships we have are to large to sneak through it even if we're invisible"

"He's right. We need a smaller ship" Nebula agreed.

"The only thing small enough for that only has enough room for a pilot"

"Wonderful" Rocket said feigning excitement "Who's going on the suicide mission?" he asked looking between the two groups.


	26. Battle Of The Mind

**We're getting closer and closer to the end. Thank you for all of you who have stuck around since the beginning! Love you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Six: Battle Of The Mind**

"It only took one blast from that dreadnought" Shepard mused to himself as he navigated the ship through the wreckage of the Nova Corps ships.

"It'll never fire again once you're through with it" Rocket said reassuringly "Just make sure you don't forget to find us a good landing zone so we can back you up. Wouldn't want you getting stuck out there by your lonesome. Good luck, Commander"

"I'm activating the stealth drive" Shepard announced as his ship vanished from view. Exiting the large field of wreckage he began approaching the dreadnought.

"Something's beeping. Is that a bad thing?" Shepard asked.

"Relax, I modified this tech myself, probably just some nearby solar activity causing interference" Rocket explained. The beeping became excessive.

"It's malfunctioning!" Shepard said frantically.

"Did you break my stealth drive?!" Rocket asked. Shepard's ship became visible as it came closer to the dreadnought.

"Do you think they can see me?" he asked hopefully. The large ring facing him ignited with white flames "I think they can see me!" he yelled pushing the throttle getting as close to the ship as he could as the energy blast began to form. Shepard pushed down the stick causing the ship to turn placing the ship above him. Pulling a latch on the side of his seat he propelled himself with his repulsors on his boots onto the open area of the ship as the blast fired destroying his transport.

"What happened? Everything all right?" Rocket asked with a concerned tone.

"Why wouldn't I be alright? I'm just stuck here with no ship and no backup. On the bright side they probably think I'm dead" Shepard explained laying on his back.

"Great! Told you my stealth drive would work"

"Ya it worked for all of about two seconds" Shepard chastised as he stood up from his place on the floor and removing his rifle from his back. Making his way into the ship he carefully snuck past any of the Kree soldiers or workers he encountered in the hallways "Any idea where the core to the weapon is located? I'm in a maze here" Shepard asked looking around.

"You should be as close as we could get you to the core. Just keep looking on the same level as you" Peter explained.

"Got it. Just make sure you are right behind me when I bring it down. I don't want to be overwhelmed by Kree assholes"

"You got it boss" he answered sarcastically.

Arriving in a room with a large white glowing orb connected to two separate tubes by what appeared to be streams of energy he expected to find someone in the room with him only to find it empty save for one soldier. Shepard cautiously placed explosives on the tubes holding the orb in place before hiding behind a wall. Detonating the explosives the orb exploded causing the Kree in the room to be vaporized instantly.

"That was more excessive than I planned. Peter, the weapon is down come-" Suddenly he felt a enormous presence behind him filling his body with dread and fear. Twisting around quickly Shepard looked for any sign of the presence only to find none at all "What the hell was that?"

"What was what? Commander? Is something wrong?" Thor asked.

"It's... Nothing, we should get moving quickly. If Thanos is aboard this ship we need to take him down"

"Agreed. Meet us at the eastern landing platform and we'll start our search from there"

"On my way"

* * *

Shepard entered a large room with Kree letters adorning the door in front of him that read "Hangar 47B" _Still not used to reading and understanding a language I don't recognize_ he thought to himself.

"That's because you don't remember what the Kree did to you. I can make you remember" said a tall woman wearing a completely white outfit with a hood covering her face showing only that she had blue skin.

"Your name. Now" Shepard demanded pointing his gun at her.

"Put the gun away" Shepard placed the gun on his back "There, now isn't that much better? We can talk as equals"

 _What the hell is going on?! I can't move!_

"That fear your feeling is what I am making you feel isn't it? You're afraid because I am controlling your every move with just a simple thought. How does that make you feel to be totally out of control. I can comb through your memories or force you to kill your friends. But what to do first" she pondered.

"I'd rather pluck my own eyes out before I'd ever work for you"

"How exciting. I thought Thanos found a particularly worthy adversary in you. Turns out I was wrong, you can't even block out a simple mind trick. How would you ever be able to stand up to my mind possession? Of course the Reality Stone is even more powerful than I am. You'd never be able to contend with that. I'm Supergiant by the way"

"I don't care who you are. Release me and fight me man to woman"

"Sounds unappealing to me"

"Perhaps you should start finding it appealing or I swear I'll-Gah! Shepard grabbed his head writhing in agony on the floor.

"You should watch your tone when speaking to a lady. You're cute though, so I'll let it go just this once"

"What the hell are you?"

"I'm one of Thanos's Black Order. We are the most powerful of his servants. Ebony Maw was killed by you but of course he wasn't really a fighter anyway. You'll find me much more challenging. After all I am the most powerful of the Black Order. But you needn't worry about all that, you should rest now. You're going to need it to survive what I'm about to put you through" she said as his vision began to blur.

* * *

Shepard awoke in a small room that resembled his room in the Avengers compound but everything was different. The furniture was on the roof and the floor was the ceiling.

"Why do I always get put up against the crazies" he asked shaking his head. Exiting the room he saw Tony standing in the hallway.

"Why do you continue to try? Everything you do is leading up to your impending failure when Thanos attacks. If we give him the stones he'll spare all of us. We can lead normal lives"

"That's not what the real Tony Stark would say. The Tony I know wouldn't give up when presented with a challenge. He became the Iron-Man to stop criminals from using his weapons to hurt innocents. He created Vision to stop Ultron from destroying the planet. He even cured himself from what was poisoning his own body. You are not Tony Stark"

"Perhaps you don't know us as well as you think you do" Clint said from behind him. Turning around they were in the shooting range.

"You going to give me a false version of him too?"

"Why can't you ever just let me retire? Is it so hard to let someone else have the family you've always wanted? You can't put aside your own pride long enough to let us get on with our lives?"

"The real Clint doesn't need to be asked for help. He's always there when we need him"

"Maybe. But what about you?" Bruce said entering his vision changing the room to a quinjet "You continuously made me turn into Hulk so you could just relax and let him do all the work. All the while I am slowly fading away to nothing while you get everything you've ever wanted"

"I know Bruce. He'd never put himself before the innocents who need his help. He's a great man and even better friend"

"Is it really so hard to accept your mistakes?" Thor asked moving them to the living room "Because you weren't there for me, Hella became too powerful. She is the reason Asgard is gone! You are the reason my people are wanderers without a place to call home!"

"Thor, I know he's hurting more than he'd let on. But I also know he knows that any place can be Asgard. So long as you believe it"

"Then perhaps you can tell me why my brother is dead?" Wanda asked venomously "If you had stopped Hydra permanently then he never would've even been in Sokovia when you fought Ultron. Ultron never would've existed! You cause death and pain and suffering everywhere you go"

"Pietro made his choice that day. There was nothing I could do to change that, if I could take it back I would in a heartbeat"

"You'll never understand" Natasha said appearing in front of him "This thing we have between us isn't love. It's your desire to be loved that makes you cling to me because I'm vulnerable. You're the reason I keep getting hurt. If you had just let yourself die long ago. None of these problems we are having would've ever come to pass"

Shepard stood there silently taking in her appearance as he contemplated her words "I know what we have is love, Nat. Nothing this witch says will make me believe otherwise"

"You're doing good, Commander. I'm surprised by your fortitude. I'll wear you down soon enough, and learn what I need to know. Just keep fighting will you? It'll make it all the more satisfying to watch you fail" Supergiant's voice echoed.

* * *

"Shepard get up!" Peter yelled grabbing his attention as he lay on the floor.

"Commander! We need to get out of here now!" Thor yelled punching his way past the Kree fighting against them.

"Someone needs to detonate the bomb. The timer isn't working!" Rocket called out.

"Let me do it then" Shepard volunteered.

"No we need you to-"

Shepard slammed his hand down on the detonate button causing everything around him to freeze.

"One of these days you're going to figure out that I'm going to keep passing your tests" Shepard yelled in annoyance.

"Very well. Onto the harder one then. I suppose we won't have need of wiping your memory anymore since that clearly isn't working"

Shepard was suddenly tied to a wooden post with thousands of Supergiant clones all around him with small knifes in their hands.

"I'm going to continue to stab and cut you for the next 72 years. Have fun" they all chanted at once over and over again as they began stabbing and slicing away at him. Shepard screamed in pain.

* * *

"Commander? Are you alright?" Loki asked as he began unlocking the chains from around his arms. Shepard quickly pushed him away with his legs throwing him onto his back.

"Get the hell away from me! I'm immune to your mind games, witch!" he yelled breaking out of the remaining shackle. Thor came running in "Shepard what the hell are you yelling about?"

"No! I'll not have more of this. I have survived for this long! I can go for as long as I can still draw breath!"

"Commander, please try and calm down. What are you raving on about?" Loki asked concerned.

"I've had quite enough of your games. I'm not going to fall for it. Not today or tomorrow, you'll never get me to crack"

"What're you talking about?"

"I know what your doing. I'm not telling you where the stones are, you'll never their locations from me"

"Why would we want to know something we already know the answer to?" Thor asked confused.

"What seems to be the problem?" Heimdall asked entering the room.

"That's a new one. Alright I can take it. Give me your best shot Heimdall, I'm still not going to tell you the location of the stones"

"What is he talking about?"

"If you're truly are real, which for heavens sake I hope you are. where is the Mind Stone?"

"His forehead" Loki answered somewhat catching on.

Shepard stared in disbelief. Dropping onto his knees he began crying tears of joy.

"What the hell is going on here?" Thor asked confused.

"Supergiant is the leader of the forces on the dreadnought. She has mind control abilities and was torturing me with visions of my failures and my past or just plain torturing me. How long has it been?"

"We just landed to back you up a few minutes ago before we lost contact with you"

Shepard's eyes expanded in shock "She did all of that in just a few minutes?" he asked.

"Did what?"

"I was being tortured in there for over a century. I knew that time must've been moving faster than it actually was out here. But to think she could invoke a hundred years of torture in just a few minutes"

"So... You're saying you were acting like that because you thought we were just another one of her illusions?" Thor asked.

"Exactly"

"That makes more sense now. I can't believe you went through all of that without breaking" Loki said.

"I want to know where she is. I'm going to rip her head off her shoulders"

"We can do it together"

"No! She can control your body with her mind. The only way to beat her is alone"

"How can you beat her if she can control you?"

"The amount of time I spent in her world helped me build up a resistance to her powers. I'm actually blocking her out right now" Shepard explained.

"Here's hoping it works"

Shepard followed the intense beating in his head as he left the opposite direction as them until it became unbearable "You can come out now! I'm going to cut that tongue right out of your head" he called out attempting to goad her.

"If that's what you wish" she answered behind him.

"You made a huge mistake messing with me, witch"

"Stab yourself in your leg" Shepard pulled his blade out and hesitated slightly before stabbing it directly into his leg. Supergiant smiled approaching him slowly.

"I told you. No one can resist me. I am all powerful-" she taunted just before he fired his pistol into her chest three times. Stepping back in surprise she looked at her hands to see her blood on them "How did you?" she asked coughing up blood and falling onto her back.

"You can't expose the mind of who your torturing with your abilities without exposing your own as well. I just had to make you think you still had control. Once you were close enough I decided it was now or never"

"I've controlled the minds of hundreds simultaneously. What makes you any different?" she coughed out blood pooling beneath her body.

"You left yourself open for me to feed you memories. I was deliberately feeding you thoughts of deep intimacy with Natasha, you were disgusted and lost your focus long enough for me to seize my opportunity. I tested this three times during your torture, I decided that I should keep my plan hidden until the opportune moment"

"Perhaps... you were more... formidable... than I thought" she conceded.

"It was a battle of willpower. I just had more willpower than you did"

"This doesn't change anything... Thanos will get what he wants... you can't stop..." her eyes glazed over as her head slumped down onto the floor.

"We'll see about that" Shepard said turning and limping away.

* * *

"I can't believe you went through all of that and still are sane" Mantis said with a pitying look on her face.

"I almost didn't. Thankfully my friends pulled me out before I lost my mind. I was in there long enough to figure out her weakness"

"Anytime" Loki smiled over to him.

"Thank you. I'm just glad I was able to use her weakness against her without her noticing, I got real lucky"

"Damn right you did" Peter said entering the room "We're all lucky to have gotten out of that alive after you dropped out of contact"

"I know, that's on me"

"No, you're the only reason we were able to board this ship without being blown apart. Nova Corps appears to be wrapping things up here" Gamora reassured next to him.

"You're too kind"

"What's the plan now?" Thor asked.

"We use the Tesseract to teleport us to Earth" Shepard answered standing up.

"You look like you could use a change of clothes" Bruce noted.

"Yes. I was just thinking I was starting to smell up the armor. But perhaps that was the scrapheap I was tossed into when I landed on Sakaar"

"Mind if we tag along? I've never been back to Earth since my mother died there" Peter asked.

"You're more than welcome after the help you provided" Shepard said with a genuine smile on his face.

"Thanks. We should get moving then"

"We'll get set up and let you know when you're ready"

"Understood"

* * *

"Ready?" Loki asked pointing the Tesseract towards the spot they planned to open a portal.

"Whenever you are" Thor answered. Loki opened a portal large enough for Peter's ship to pass through "Here we go" Gamora announced as they entered.

"Where was your destination?" Shepard asked.

"We are just a mile or two off the West coast of America. We're close to California , shouldn't take us more than-" Loki stopped noticing explosions and lasers firing in the distance "What the hell is that?"

"Earth doesn't use lasers does it?" Thor asked.

"Not unless you're Tony Stark or Vision. Take us over there so we can find out what the hell is going on" Shepard ordered.

"Yes! Take me to the battle! My blades have yet to be quenched!" Drax yelled excitedly from behind them.

"What he said" Nebula smirked.

"I am Groot"

Arriving at the scene they found several Kree ships fighting with three SHIELD Helicarriers. SHIELD agents battled Kree soldiers aboard the deck of the carriers.

"Get us down there!" Shepard ordered placing his helmet over his face as he ran towards the exit with Thor and Valkyrie shortly behind.

"Why do we always get the crazies?" Rocket asked as they jumped out of the back.

"I am Groot"

"You can say that again"

"I am Groot"

"I didn't mean literally"

Falling towards the deck, Shepard used his staff's shield to break his fall as he landed on a Kree soldier. Thor landed on a Kree ship and began ripping off parts while Valkyrie took the place of the pilot on another ship.

"Who is this?!" asked a voice.

"This is Star-Lord. My team and I are here to help"

"If you're here to help you better have a way to take down those Kree ships. They're bombing the hell out of the place"

"We got a man on that already" Shepard said as he kicked a Kree off the side of the carrier before tossing another over his shoulder.

"Who is this?"

"It's me Phil" Shepard answered waving towards the camera still operating.

"John?" came a voice from his right. Turning he saw Natasha's face with tears running down her cheeks. She pulled out her pistol and fired it killing a Kree sneaking behind him.

"Thanks" Shepard said raising his eyebrow at the corpse.

"You and me are going to have a serious talk after this" she said leaving no room for argument.

"Yes milady" he said with a mock bow.

"Happy as I am to have you back Commander. We need those ships taken out. They're going to annihilate the civilians before we can get to them"

"Leave it to me. Thor!"

"On it!" Thor yelled back firing an incredibly large lightning bolt at the ships causing them to start to fall towards the water.

"Wow. That's new" Tony said before landing next to Shepard "Where the hell have you been? How are you even here? I saw you get killed by that explosion four days ago"

"It's only been four days?!" Shepard asked in shock.

"Perhaps we should focus on the battle before asking questions" Wanda said as she used her powers to direct the descending ships into deeper water to avoid damage to the city.

"I'm just glad he's back" Clint said jumping over a Kree with a sword and firing an arrow into his skull.

"Incoming at 12:00" Vision announced grabbing their attention. Landing on the deck of the carrier they were on stood a large man about the size of the Hulk that looked to be made completely of stone. He wore large black pants with gray boots and a black sleeveless shirt with a large red X over the middle. A large silver metal strap held a giant war axe in place.

"Hand over the Infinity Stone and I'll leave your planet in peace" he offered in a deep gravely voice that sounded more like an echo than an actual voice.

"No you won't" Tony answered blasting him with his repulsors knocking him down. Standing back up unharmed he looked at Tony with a grin on his face.

"You're right. It's more fun this way"

Charging Shepard and Tony they both jumped over him using their repulsors. Vision landed next to them ready to fight as Natasha joined their side.

"The more the merrier!" he yelled with excitement, grabbing the axe off his back.

"This guy took a direct blast from my chest and took it like it was nothing. We need to be smart here"

"Maybe those lasers you have?" Natasha asked.

"Out"

"Then let's see how hard that skin of his really is" Shepard said charging towards him.

"You're the one that Thanos has heard so much about. I'll bring him your head on a platter-" he taunted before Shepard sliced his throat with his sword. Cutting slightly into his neck he growled in pain. Punching Shepard in the chest he sent him flying backwards. Flipping backwards through the air he landed on his hands pushing off and landing on his feet, sliding to a stop.

"That's a pretty good blade you have there. No doubt the reason behind your victories over Thanos's forces that came here with Ebony Maw"

Sam slammed into his back knocking him onto his chest "Woo! Betcha didn't see that coming!" he yelled landing next to Shepard.

"I'll crush you all!" he yelled blindly charging at Shepard with his axe. Swinging down at him he was blocked by an electrical mace from Rhodes and kicked in the chest sending him soaring through the air backwards as Scott appeared in front of them enlarging from his small size.

"Well done!" Tony yelled.

"Good to have you back, Commander" Rhodes said.

"Likewise, Colonel. Glad to see your back in action"

"You useless ants don't stand a chance against Thanos. Defeating me wont gain you anything. My brother and Sister-in-law will destroy you in a single attack. They're are the greatest military leaders the universe has ever seen!"

"Who are you then?" Natasha asked.

"Cull Obsidian is the name the Mad Titan has bestowed me. I am one of his Black Order. His executioner. There are none who can stand against us"

"You sure about that?" Loki asked from behind him holding the Tesseract in his hands.

"The Tesseract?!" Tony said in shock.

"How kind of you to bring me an Infinity Stone. I'll be sure to tell Thanos of your cooperation. Perhaps he'll forgive your failed invasion of this planet"

"I don't seek forgiveness. Not from you anyway" Loki smirked.

"Yagh!" Drax yelled slamming into Obsidian with his swords drawn "I shall fell you! Then your master!" he yelled moments before he was kicked away easily.

"Fool"

Rocket blasted him in the back with his rifle as the rest of the Guardians stood there beside him "You mess with him. You mess with all of us"

"I'll gladly demolish you all. Sadly I have a schedule to keep" he answered kicking Loki in the chest throwing him onto his back. Catching the Tesseract he smashed it open removing the stone from it's remains "At last my master shall see my worth above the others" he said before Groot slammed his arms into him with tremendous force throwing him onto his back.

Catching the stone in his hand, Groot looked completely unfazed by holding it in his hand "I am Groot"

"Go Groot!" Shepard yelled excitedly.

"An overgrown plant cannot best-" Obsidian was interrupted by Wanda lifting him into the air with her ability.

"Time for you to go" she said with a smirk on her face as she increased the amount of Psionic power flowing into him. Drax laughed as he jumped at Obsidian with his sword in hand.

"Drax no!" Gamora yelled.

Obsidian exploded into thousands of pieces throwing Drax onto the ground. Rushing over to check on him they watched as Drax stood up laughing "I did it! I killed one of Thanos's Lieutenants! You're next Mad God!" he yelled.

"It's Mad Titan, and you didn't kill him! She did!" Rocket yelled in disbelief.

Drax turned to look at Wanda who just gave him a small wave "Impossible. She is small and weak. I am large and powerful. Couldn't have been her"

"Excuse me?" Wanda asked.

"Drax, you contributed greatly. But Wanda used a Psionic blast to obliterate Cull Obsidian. It was a team effort" Shepard explained trying to prevent a fight.

"That sounds much more believable" Drax agreed.

"That's just what I-nevermind I don't care" Rocket said shaking his head.

Natasha turned to look at Shepard who took a small step backwards. Her fists were shaking in anger "You're always so damned reckless!" she yelled angrily at him. Shepard removed his helmet to look her in the eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry, I'd do it again without hesitation. But I am sorry, for what it's worth"

Natasha punched him hard in the face knocking him back a step before pulling him into a hug with tears threatening to fall from her eyes "Thank you"

"For what?" he asked confused.

"Coming back"

* * *

"You're telling me that the bomb Stark made actually teleported you to a planet called Sakaar where you just happened upon Thor, Banner, and Loki who helped you get off planet to save Asgard from Hella, Thor's sister and then blew up Asgard to kill her before being blown out of the side of a spaceship and landed on their windshield? Then you teleported here to round us up for an attack on Thanos?" Fury asked incredulously.

"You forgot the Dreadnought infiltration and the mind torture but otherwise your spot on" Shepard answered.

"You are too much, Commander. How do you always end up right where you're needed?"

"I would chalk it up to luck. Clearly the universe is a small place"

"Touching"

"Do you mind? I would really like to talk to my team"

"Fine, fine. Go smooth things over with Natasha and Tony. They're the only ones who are pissed at you"

"I'll keep that in mind" Shepard said as he exited the room entering where the Avengers and Guardians were waiting. Loki was tied to a chair and Drax was glaring at Vision.

"You're not Vision. Vision is what your eyes give you"

"My name is Vision. Therefore when I greeted you I said I am Vision"

"I just told you, you're not Vision!" he yelled back annoyed.

"Drax calm the hell down before I through you outside" Gamora threatened.

"Fine. I shall talk to someone else then"

"I take it you were all listening in on that?" Shepard asked. The instant silence gave him his answer "I figured"

"What the hell were you thinking blowing yourself up on that ship?! We could've found another way" Tony yelled in anger.

"You know his hand was forced" Clint piped up "I would've done the same thing in his place"

"You threw Natasha out of a ship!"

"I did. She had a breather mask and I knew Vision wouldn't let her die"

"You were correct" Vision answered.

"You're not Vision" Drax said looking at him again before noticing Gamora's glare "Fine, I'll keep it to myself"

"What would you have done differently?" Shepard asked Tony.

"I would've had Friday do it by controlling my suit to do it for me"

"Not all of us have an Iron-Man suit we can control from a distance, Tony" Wanda pointed out.

"Well he could've done something!"

"No" Natasha said shaking her head "If I had the chance I would've thrown Shepard out of the ship. I was trying to convince him to give me that chance by saying we could do it together so we wouldn't be apart"

"Thank you. I'm sorry for throwing you out of the ship"

"It's probably for the best. For all we know I might've actually died by detonating the bomb instead of being teleported to Sakaar, since the rest of the ship didn't go with you. Also I don't think anyone else could've fended off Supergiant as handily as you did. You kept her from discovering your secrets she wanted while breaking down her walls without her noticing. Something your apparently very good at"

"Had plenty of practice with you" Clint joked getting punched in the arm as a result "Ow. That hurts you know"

"So three of the Black Order are dead. That's good progress" Natasha said.

"You know anything else about the Black Order?" Loki asked from his chair. Everyone from the Avengers team excluding Bruce, Thor, and Shepard glared at him.

"Loki's changed. Give him a chance, he may surprise you" Shepard defended.

"Ya, and he may not" Clint venomously retorted.

Shepard untied him from the chair "Thank you"

"Figured you might need your arms to defend yourself"

"Wise words" Thor said with a laugh.

"I'm pleased you find my impending doom to be so hilarious"

"Back to Loki's original question" Bruce said grabbing their attention.

"You abandoned us" Wanda said annoyed.

"Hulk abandoned you, not me. I didn't even know Sokovia's fight with Ultron was over when I woke up. Two years of my life I lived as Hulk I'm just glad I was able to turn back a lot sooner this time"

"There are five members of the Black Order. Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw, and Proxima Midnight. Thanos is the leader of the Black Order. That means we are halfway done dismantling it. According the Schmidt anyway" Natasha answered.

"Do we know their abilities?"

"No. Only thing Schmidt knew about Corvus Glaive is that he's invincible as long as his weapon is unbroken"

"Thanos has two Infinity Stones. Let's keep it from getting any worse" Shepard said.


	27. Immortal Duo

**I know this chapter is kind of lacking but don't worry I did that on purpose! I'll make up for it later on, I promise!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven: Immortal Duo**

"I can never tell what you're thinking" Natasha said standing just to the left of Shepard, looking out the window of the Avengers compound.

"I usually like it that way. Although I don't mean to do it with you" he countered looking towards her for a brief moment.

"What's on your mind?"

"Loki has come a long way. He helped save us on Asgard, he also freed me from Supergiant's torturous illusions"

"He did put himself out in the open against Cull Obsidian back on the carrier" Natasha pointed out.

"Indeed" he agreed.

"He was able to open a portal with the Space Stone for the rest of the Asgardians to come to Earth. Thankfully PODUS agreed to allow them a space to rebuild their society among us"

"Do you think the others will come around?"

"I think they will. They did forgive Wanda and Pietro"

"That's true"

"I know that wasn't what's been littering your thoughts"

"It is not. I am worried about the other two members of the Black Order. If they're the only ones left they are going to be desperate and start using unorthodox tactics against us"

"Really? After the other three you helped take down I didn't realize you even thought about that"

"Cull Obsidian was just a brainless brute. I was only able to take down Supergiant on sheer luck. Ebony Maw didn't exactly bring a lot to the table"

"I think I am beginning to see your point"

"I can't see a group of five people being successful enough to take down hundreds of worlds without Thanos with the three of them being a part of the group"

"So you're thinking that these other two are going to be a big step up then?"

"Exactly. I think we need to prepare for the worst. Especially knowing about Crovus's immortality"

"Then I guess we should talk to the others about this"

"I agree... Are we ok?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know I screwed up back on Ebony Maw's ship. I was actually dreading seeing you again for fear of how angry you would be"

Natasha started laughing hysterically "I was mad because I thought you were dead. I was never mad for what you did, I meant what I said before about doing the same thing"

Shepard smiled at her "I'm glad"

"You better not start thinking I've gone soft or anything!" she insisted pulling him into a quick kiss.

"Of course, milady" he winked at her.

"Good. I wouldn't want you thinking you can just throw me out of ships whenever you want to blow yourself up to get away for a week"

* * *

"My lord, Cull Obsidian is dead and all our Kree forces have been devastated with Supergiant's demise" a man wearing a full black cloak and a bronze colored glaive in his right hand. His face was pale white with matching eyes, with large wrinkles across his face.

"What shall we do, my lord?" a woman wearing a long white catsuit with black sleeves and helmet. She had a golden metal left arm and a matching colored spear in her right hand. her skin was a dark blue with light colored lips. Her piercing white eyes stared down at the ground in front of her.

"I'm surprised. My Black Order failing on so many occasions. We have never failed to conquer a planet or system for ourselves" Thanos said turning around.

"Apologies, my lord. We will endeavor to accomplish the next mission assigned to us" the Proxima pledged.

"You both did a fantastic job on acquiring the Power Stone from Xandar completely unnoticed Proxima. I want you to head to Earth and obtain the Time and Space Stone and bring them back to me"

"Of course, my lord. We live to serve" Corvus said.

* * *

"What is it?" Thor asked as Fury entered the room with Shepard standing beside him.

"He refused to speak to anyone but you" Fury said turning for them to see him.

"Pleasure to see you again, Thor" a tall man said. He had black hair with streaks of gray in it while wearing a blue robe with yellow gloves and a red cape that appeared to flap in the wind strangely enough as there was no draft in the room.

"Doctor Strange. Mind me asking what you're doing here?" Thor asked.

"Well I wanted to come check up on Loki and make sure that he wasn't causing any trouble"

"I can assure you, he hasn't done anything but help us tremendously. Mind me asking how you know each other?" Fury asked.

"He helped me find my father just before Hella was released from her prison" Thor answered.

"I get the feeling you aren't just here to check up on Loki" Shepard said staring him down.

"Quite right. I'm here to offer the Avengers my help and expertise"

"Mind me asking what that is exactly?"

"I am known as the Sorcerer Supreme among the others I teach. I am here to help you because I know that Thanos is going to be sending Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight to take the Infinity Stones he has yet to obtain"

"Do you know where others are?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. I have possession of the Time Stone in a relic called the Eye of Agamotto. The Power Stone that was previously hidden in the vault of the Nova Corps on Xandar has been stolen by Proxima Midnight without them being the wiser"

"How did she do that?"

"I don't know. I only know that she did, and that her and Corvus are coming after the Time Stone I have, and the Space Stone you have in your possession"

"You think they're coming straight for you or us and you don't want Thanos obtaining anymore Infinity Stones?"

"Precisely. He has three of them already and yet the other three are all here on one planet. That's a recipe for disaster-" Strange began before being interrupted by a loud explosion. Racing outside they noticed Proxima Midnight standing in the crater.

"Hello, Avengers. Which one of you is Commander Shepard?" she asked.

"That would be me" Shepard said stepping forward _I need to try and keep this from getting out of hand too fast I'm only wearing a suit not my armor_

"Hand over the Space Stone and I'll leave you all in peace with forgiveness for the merciless killings of my fellow members of the Black Order"

"I'm surprised, I was expecting your husband to be around here with you" Shepard said watching Natasha and Thor sneak up behind her they signaled that they were ready.

"He's got a far more important task to accomplish, after all someone has to take the Time Stone from your friends" she said pointing towards Strange.

"That right? Then I suppose we should wrap this up" Shepard said with a nod.

Thor shot a large bolt of lightning in her direction while Shepard rolled to the right to keep out of the way. Proxima was thrown through the wall.

"Nice one, brother" Loki said with a smirk as he ran over.

"Yes, Odinson. Nice one" Proxima said exiting the hole in the wall without even a scratch on her "I believe Hella was the only other person who took a blast that powerful from you"

"How?" Fury breathed in shock.

"I'm nearly invulnerable, my dear Avengers"

Shepard pulled out his pistol and fired the entire clip into her chest with it all showing no clear wounds after the initial impact "Just making sure you weren't lying" he shrugged.

"How thorough of you" she said with a glare.

"I try"

Proxima pulled her spear out of thin air and sprung towards Shepard. Jumping out of the way he avoided the crater that was created from the impact. Without hesitating she charged at him before he had time to recover. Loki blocked the spears attack with his gauntlet, being thrown onto his back.

"I can assure you there is nothing you can do to me that will even hurt me. Give me the Space Stone and I'll allow you all to live"

"I won't be handing you anything. Your going to have to put that spear through me in order to get it from us"

"Or perhaps just provide a very good distraction" she grinned as her husband showed up behind her.

"Funny. I thought you were off going for the Time Stone" Strange said. Corvus Glaive held both the Space and Time Stone for everyone to see before handing them both to Proxima.

"I see. You used the Space Stone to give you access to the Time Stone" Natasha concluded.

"Exactly. You go deliver those to Thanos. I'll stay behind and have some fun here before getting the Mind Stone"

"Do it quickly. Don't play around for too long" Proxima said before vanishing immediately using the Space Stone.

"Looks like Thanos has five of the six stones" Shepard said dejectedly.

"You all are going to die very painful deaths!" he yelled charging Shepard.

Shepard sidestepped him and grabbed the opposite end of the Glaive and pulled him around slamming him into the ground. Picking him up her began slamming him back into the ground kicking his weapon away from him.

"So I hear that weapon is behind your immortality" Shepard goaded.

"And I hear your actually a tough opponent. Don't allow yourself to be swayed by rumors!" he yelled kicking him in the chest, throwing him several feet away before picking his weapon back up. Tony caught him as he landed in his Iron-Man suit.

"I don't much appreciate your thieving from my property" Tony said standing up.

"I don't care what you think!" he yelled charging him with incredible speed. Tony blasted him with his repulsors knocking him back several feet. Thor came from behind him flying straight towards him. Corvus turned grabbing his fist and twisting him onto his back with his foot firmly planted on his chest pinning him to the ground.

 _That's some incredible strength he's got_

"You cannot hope to stop someone as powerful as me" he said with a small laugh. Wanda picked him up off Thor with a Psionic wave of energy coursing through him.

"Your brother used to say the same thing, want to find out what happened to him?" she asked smirking.

"You wouldn't dare-" he began before being torn apart similar to Cull Obsidian.

"That solves that then" Loki said.

"Everything okay over here?" Peter asked running up to them with the rest of the Guardians behind him.

"Corvus Glaive stole the Space Stone from Vision and used it to steal the Time Stone from Dr. Strange here" Shepard explained gesturing to Strange.

"Where is he now?" Rocket asked.

"His guts are littering our yard" Tony said dejectedly.

"Enough about the lawn man!" Shepard said with a huff.

"Has anyone seen Vision?" Clint asked as he exited the building with Bruce not far behind.

"I'm alright" he answered passing through a nearby wall "Glaive took me by surprise with his incredible speed and strength"

"If he's dead, where are the stones?" Nebula asked.

"Proxima Midnight took them and teleported away using the Space Stone-" Shepard started to explain before noticing the blood on the grass begin to float towards the Glaive on the floor "What the hell?"

The blood took shape of a man before exploding to reveal Corvus Glaive alive and well "A minor inconvenience" he said with a grin on his face as he turned to look at Wanda before catching view of Bruce "Why don't we let the beast out to play?" he asked before charging towards him laughing as he did.

Clint stepped in front of Bruce ready to take the impact. Strange opened a portal in front of him causing Corvus to vanish before opening another one for his Glaive to come back through.

"There problem solved"

"What exactly did you do?" Fury asked.

"I placed him in a dimension where he will be constantly falling until I open it back up. Giving us plenty of time to destroy his weapon so he can be killed"

"Sounds like you really thought this through" Tony said.

"Thanks" Bruce said referring to Clint and Strange.

"Anytime"

"Of course" they responded in kind.

"Excellent. Let's get to destroying it" Shepard said lifting up the glaive.

* * *

"You're sure this will destroy it?" Shepard asked Bruce.

"Yes. The Mind Stone is indestructible. The energy beam from Vision should destroy it"

"Let's get started then" Vision agreed. Using his laser he started breaking the weapon into several pieces.

"Looks broken enough for me" Tony said.

"Then let's try this out" Strange said opening a portal in the room causing Corvus to fly into the floor.

Pushing himself up onto his elbows "I have been falling for forty minutes!" he yelled in anger.

Shepard kneeled down in front of him with his gun to his head "Your weapon is broken. Looks like you can die now"

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT SUCH DISGRACE!" he yelled in a rage as he grabbed a shard of his weapon "I DIE BY MY OWN HAND, NOT YOURS!" he continued as he stabbed it into his chest causing him to slowly bleed out on the floor.

"Well, that just leaves Proxima Midnight and Thanos to stop before we can truly be done with all this Infinity Stone business" Shepard said with a shake of his head.

"I suppose we should figure out a way to recover some of those stones. There is no way we can take on Thanos with five of the Infinity Stones" Natasha concluded.

"I have an idea" Peter said behind everyone surprising them.

"Parker? What're you doing here?" Shepard asked.

"I was already on my way here to meet Mr. Stark when I noticed the destruction. I had to come see if everyone was okay. I just overheard everything on my way in"

"You said you have an idea?" Fury asked.

"Yes! Do you have any data on the Mind Stone in Vision's forehead?"

"Of course they do. I've been studying myself almost as much as they have been studying me" he answered.

"Great" he said clapping his hands together nervously "Big favor, Commander. Shepard. Sir" he said trying to find the right words.

"You want to see that data?"

"Yes. Please. Sir"

"Be my guest, if you think you can figure out where Thanos is I will give you whatever you need"

"Thanks-"

"Just Shepard is fine Parker" he interrupted.

"Of course, sir-Shepard. I can use the data you've got and data you have from when SHIELD was studying the Tesseract to triangulate where the signal of Gamma Radiation coming off the stones is concentrated the most" he explained.

"What if he's in another galaxy?" Tony asked.

"Very funny, Mr. Stark. You know there's no way I could make something to track Gamma Radiation in other galaxies" he said looking at Tony for any sign of jest. Noticing none he sat shocked "Is he in another galaxy?"

"Andromeda to be exact" Shepard answered.

"Oh my God! That's amazing. You have got to let me come with you guys"

"What happened to being just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?" Tony asked.

"Wouldn't be very neighborly to let someone from another galaxy take over or destroy the planet now would it?" Shepard countered.

"Fair enough"

"Get started on what you're doing Peter. Once you have something let us know. The rest of us have some preparing to do" Shepard explained as he walked out of the room.

"Thank you! I wont let you down!"

"Bruce. You can help him out" he added with a smirk.

* * *

"You really think we're prepared to go against Thanos?" Natasha asked walking onto the roof where Shepard stood alone.

"I don't think we really have a choice"

"True. But that didn't answer my question"

"I know. I do think we're ready"

"We do have quite a lineup"

"Tony, Thor, Bruce, Clint, you and me, both Peters, Gamora, Nebula, Wanda, Groot, Rocket, Bucky, Strange, Valkyrie, Loki, Drax, Mantis, Rhodes, Scott, Sam, Korg, Heimdall, Vision. Indeed the best of the best are gonna go up against him"

"We're going to have to do our best"

"I'll fight as hard as I need to"

"I know you will"

"There is one thing that would make me fight harder though" Shepard said dropping down onto his knee.

"What's that-" Natasha began to ask turning towards him she saw him down on one knee with a ring in his hand. The ring was a black circle with a red line going around the center meeting at the top with a green emerald gem matching her eyes. She stopped her eyes wide placing her right hand over her mouth in surprise.

"Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, will you marry me?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

Natasha sat in shock as she scanned his face for any sign of doubt. Finding none she smiled brightly as a single tear fell from her eye "Yes! I'll marry you!" she said excitedly latching onto him in a hug almost tipping him over.

"Woah there. I'm supposed to put the ring on first-" he protested as she placed her lips on his. Shepard allowed himself to enjoy the moment knowing full well what tomorrow brought.


	28. The Mad Titan

**The hunt for Thanos begins! Thank you all for being patient with me for as long as you have been. Those of you with good memories might recognize this chapter from the Mass Effect series.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Mad Titan**

"What's the verdict Parker?" Shepard asked entering the lab where Bruce and Peter were working on the Gamma-Ray tracking device.

"I believe we have a reliable system. I can get us a general location once we enter the Andromeda galaxy. Before then I can only tell you that the Mind Stone is in Vision's forehead"

"In other words you can't tell me anything" he smirked "Excellent work, the both of you. Suit up Parker, we're wheels up in fifteen" he ordered.

"Thank you!" he yelled excitedly leaving to put on his Spider-Man suit.

"What about me?" Bruce asked.

"You are going to be staying here. I'm not giving you another opportunity to get turned permanently into Hulk because Thanos takes a crack shot at you"

"I want to help!" he insisted.

"I'm doing this for you!" Shepard yelled back "If you turn into Hulk and can't turn back, it'll be the last anyone sees of Bruce Banner" he explained. Bruce's eyes were downcast "I understand. Just... Make sure you kick his ass" he said looking up at him.

Shepard grinned "That I can do"

"Commander" Coulson called knocking on the doorframe "May I have a word before you leave?" he asked.

"You got it" he answered following him out of the room with a nod towards Bruce.

"You're really going after him aren't you?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"If we don't we risk being caught by surprise by Thanos when he comes to finally claim Vision's Mind Stone"

"You plan to use the element of surprise while you still have it then" he concluded.

Shepard nodded "If we can catch him unawares, we may be able to secure the Infinity Stones before he has a chance to use them"

"Here's hoping you catch the big guy"

"We'll get him. We're the Avengers" Shepard said placing his hand on Coulson's shoulder reassuringly.

"Good luck"

"Thank you. Keep Bruce safe while we're gone?"

"You can count on us. I'll keep the big guy company personally"

Shepard laughed lightly as he walked out of the room.

* * *

"I take it we're ready to go?" Bucky asked as everyone was placing their gear into the Guardian's ship.

"We're all set once Tony is done loading up. Let's make sure we get the job done" he answered patting him on the back.

"Yes, Commander. We'll get it done"

"Everything is all set according to Stark" Quill said stepping off the ship.

"Let's get everyone aboard then"

"You heard the man! Everyone on the ship before we leave you behind!"

"I hope I don't have to tell you how important it is that you succeed" Fury said from the bottom of the drop ramp.

"If we fail. I think you'll be aware by the large alien fleet attacking the planet"

"Already dealt with that once. Let's keep from making it a second time"

The ship began taking off before heading towards the closest cosmic gateway they knew of to get to Andromeda.

"Start that thing up Mr. Parker" Tony said as they entered the gateway several minutes later.

"Yes, Mr. Stark"

The machine began making loud beeping noises as he read the results of the machine "That can't be right"

"What is it?" Clint asked.

"It looks like its in the center of the galaxy. But that's impossible"

"Why?" Shepard asked.

"That place is just black holes and exploding stars. No ship that has ever gone there has come back" Gamora explained.

"Yet that's where the Infinity Stones are, so that's where we're going" Shepard said with a smirk.

"You don't understand, Commander. It's a deathtrap. There's no way that thing is working correctly if it's pointing us there"

"It wouldn't be the first time I learned something I thought was impossible was completely possible"

"If that's where the Infinity Stones are then it's possible that Thanos could be using them to protect himself from the dangers of that place" Vision concluded.

"Or perhaps Thanos is the reason no ships that have ever gone there have returned" Shepard theorized.

"Sounds more likely to me" Natasha agreed.

"Then that's where we need to go" Quill agreed.

"You can't be serious" Rocket said annoyed "We'll be blown to space dust"

"I am Groot"

"I know we need to stop Thanos. But if we die in the process, then what's the point?"

"Death is almost a certainty with our line of work" Drax said solemnly "Let's make sure ours mean something"

"Fine! Let's all go into a black hole next to see what happens because it's just so fun!"

* * *

"We're coming up on the gateway" Gamora notified as she prepared herself for her impending doom. Quill, Nebula, and Rocket got in the other pilot chairs to assist her.

"Let's all get blown up then" Rocket sighed with annoyance.

Shepard approached the cockpit with Natasha behind him. Passing through the gateway they came upon a large starship with wreckage from other ships all around the area "Looks like you were right" Natasha said with a smirk.

"Keep your pants on. We need to get over to that ship first-" Rocket explained as they came under fire from three Chitauri ships hiding amongst the wreckage.

"We got tangos on our tail" Nebula said.

"I got them" Quill said activating the weapons on the ship and firing at them.

The whole team began gearing up ready to take the fight to the station Thanos was aboard.

"Two down!" Gamora yelled.

"Three down" Rocket laughed as he fired Quill's gun on the controls with perfect accuracy.

"Excellent work. Get us down onto that station" he said.

"We've got company" Rocket noted as a large Chitauri ship emerged from the station.

"I've got a plan for that" Vision said as they avoided fire from the ship as they came very close to the station.

"Keep us steady!" Nebula yelled as Vision walked to the front of the cockpit and placed his head through the glass. Firing a laser from his Mind Stone he cut a path straight through the Chitauri ship causing it to violently explode sending shockwaves out in every direction. The ship shook violently as Rocket and Gamora lost control of the ship.

"Hold on! I'm going to try and put us down on that station!" Quill yelled as everyone held on for dear life. Crashing down onto the station they slid to a stop breaking part of the station antennae off.

"Everyone alright?" Shepard called out as the team entered the room he did a headcount to himself.

"I think I broke a rib. All of them" Rocket groaned out.

"I am Groot"

"Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operation will take time" Gamora explained.

"We all knew this was likely a one way trip" Natasha said shaking her head.

"I don't plan on dying out here. But our primary objective is to take down Thanos and ensure he cannot use the Infinity Stones to attack Earth, or any other planets"

"Well I'd say we're off to a great start" Tony said sarcastically.

"What do we do now? We don't even know where Thanos would be" Sam asked.

"How long until they find this landing zone?"

"They won't find us very quickly. As soon as we landed I hacked into their systems. We now have a full blueprint of their base while they don't even know we are alive" Nebula explained.

"There isn't any form of internal security network. My best guess is that Thanos never expected anyone to ever infiltrate the base" Gamora added.

"We didn't plan this mission this way. But this is what it comes down to. We can't worry about whether we can get back home. We came to stop Thanos, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. Nebula bring up your scans" Shepard said as the team instinctively formed a circle around the room. A holographic projection of the station appeared in the center of them.

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the control center here" she pointed.

"That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature" Sam said added pointing to the center.

"That's the central chamber. That's probably where the bulk of their forces are" Shepard concluded.

"Looks like there are two main routes. Might be a good idea to split up to keep the Chitauri off balance, then regroup in the central chamber" Rhodes added pointing between the two.

"No good. Both routes are blocked. See those doors? The only way to get past is to get someone to open them from the other side" Gamora pointed out.

"It's not a fortress; there's got to be something. Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft" Shepard said.

"Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer" Drax said with a smirk.

"I appreciate the thought, Drax, but you couldn't shut down the security system in time. We need to send a tech expert" Gamora sighed.

"It's your call, Commander. Who do we send into the shaft?" Quill said turning to him.

"Natasha, you can hack through anything. I'm sending you into the shaft"

Natasha smirked crossing her arms over her chest "Acknowledged"

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Chitauris' attention from what your doing"

"I'll lead the second fire team, Shepard. We'll meet up on the other side of those doors" Gamora volunteered.

"Not so fast. I'm not taking orders from you" Valkyrie said while Bucky nodded in agreement behind her.

"This isn't a popularity contest! Lives are at stake. Shepard, you need someone who can command loyalty through experience" she explained.

"Bucky, you're in charge of the second team" Shepard said without missing a beat. Bucky placed his rifle on his shoulder and nodded towards him.

"Well, at least he knows what he's doing"

Shepard began pacing back and forth "I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy. We've lost good people before. We may lose more" Wanda's eyes lowered sadly at the mention of her brother "We don't know how many lives Thanos has ruined. Thousands, hundreds of thousands. It doesn't matter. What matters is this: Not one more. That's what we can do, here, today. It ends with us" Shepard pointed towards them "Thanos wants to know what we're made of? I say we show him, on our terms! Let's cut off the head of this serpent"

The entire room erupted with agreement "Stark, Barton, you're with me" he added leading them out the back of the ship.

* * *

"I'm in position. Exterior temperature is slightly elevated. No obstructions detected" Natasha informed from the vent.

"Second team, are you in position?" Shepard asked.

"In position. Meet you on the other side of those doors" Bucky answered back.

Shepard entered the next room and began firing rounds at the unaware Chitauri brining them all down with ease.

"Barnes here. We're taking heavy fire, but we're moving forward"

"There's a gate here! I can't get through" Natasha warned in the vent.

"There, over by the ventilation shaft. That valve should open the gate" Tony pointed out. Pressing his hand against the button he opened the valve.

"Barnes here. We're making good progress. We'll meet you at the rendezvous"

"We're close" Shepard said back.

"Sniper!" Clint yelled firing an arrow at him taking him down.

"We're in position. Awaiting those doors" Bucky announced.

"I'm at the last gate, Shepard! I need it open now!" Natasha yelled as an overwhelming number of Chitauri followed them into the room. Shepard opened the valve with his left hand as he fired his rifle with his right. Taking cover by the door Clint and Tony made their last stand as Shepard's back was to the door.

"Natasha, come in" he called rolling to nearby cover.

"Look out. Reinforcements!" Bucky yelled as his door opened and the whole team flooded into the room as Natasha fiddled with the door.

"We're in position. We need this door open now!" Shepard yelled as dozens more Chitauri entered the room firing their weapons.

Looking to his left Bucky pushed Natasha towards the other door "Go, we'll cover you!" Natasha stopped in front of the door beginning to hack it "Somethings wrong, the door is stuck!"

An explosion came through her mic as she continued to hack the door. The door opened with Clint rolling through it and taking cover. Tony stepped back inside firing his repulsors at the Chitauri. Shepard followed a similar plan "Here they come!" he yelled as the door remained open. The door by Bucky closed and his team quickly caught up with them "Suppressive fire! Don't let anything through that door!"

"Fall back!" Shepard yelled as the door closed.

"Nice work, Natasha. I knew I could count on you" he breathed stopping to catch his breath.

"We've done well so far. Let's hope we can finish the job" Natasha said standing up.

"Rocket. Can you get a fix on our position?" Shepard asked.

"I've got you. both paths ahead of you lead to the control center above you. But one route is blocked by a security door. The other way is mostly clear of Chitauri too"

"I cannot recommend that" Nebula piped in "Thermal emissions suggest the chamber is overrun with some type of drones. You have no protection against that"

"What about you, Wanda? Could you create a psionic field to protect us?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, I think it may be possible. I wouldn't be able to protect everyone, but we might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close"

"Wanda and I will take a path through the drones. The rest of you provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there"

"Who should lead the diversion team?" Natasha asked.

"Tony, your good at diversions right?"

"I'll keep them busy so you can go unnoticed" he answered.

"We have a problem!" Gamora yelled over the radio.

"What's wrong?"

"They've found us. They're attacking the ship. We need a couple more minutes to repair the ship!" Rocket answered.

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now" Drax said.

"They'll never make it without help. I'll send someone to you" Shepard answered "Strange and Groot should head back towards them"

"Gamora, we're on our way. Just hold tight" Strange answered.

"I am Groot"

"We've all got our assignments. Let's move out" Shepard ordered.

* * *

"Hold on. We're almost there" Shepard said firing at the Chitauri through Wanda's shield.

"Shepard, we need to move!" she said straining to keep the shield up.

"All right. Let's move" he agreed stepping backwards keeping pace with Wanda "They're pushing! Keep it up!" he yelled kicking a Chitauri off the ledge.

"Hurry, Shepard!" she groaned through grit teeth. Shepard passed her getting behind the wall as she turned around and unleashed a wave of psionic energy at them throwing the Chitauri off their feet just before he closed the door.

Static came through the microphone of Shepard's helmet "Do you copy? Come on, Shepard? Where are you?" Tony said over the sound of explosions and gunfire.

"I copy. What's your position?"

"We're pinned down at the door. We're taking heavy fire"

"I'm coming, just hold on! Get this door open!" he called over to Wanda as she opened the door. Shepard began firing to cover them as they entered the room.

"Come on!" he yelled as they continued to pour through the door "Seal the door!" he yelled as the last member crossed through the door. Shepard checked on Tony to see if he was alright as he slumped against the wall.

"I'm alright. Just took a bad hit there"

Shepard nodded "Rocket have you got it fixed?"

"We're all set, Commander. Strange and Groot pulled us out of the fire"

"Excellent. Now let's make it count. Gamora what's our next step?" Natasha asked.

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the control console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base"

"Commander? You've got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they bust through" Rocket explained.

Shepard stepped onto the platform and turned to look at his team "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Chitauri from overwhelming us"

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard. Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back" Natasha informed.

"Natasha, Thor, and Vision" he answered.

"I'm ready, Commander" she answered.

"So am I" Vision agreed.

"Anything to say before we do this?" Thor asked.

"The Chitauri, the Black Order. They aren't a threat to us. They're a threat to everything, everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming back without scars. But it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud"

"Well said. Let's go finish this" Natasha smirked pressing the button to move the platform towards the control center.

"There's something you should know, Commander" Rocket said.

"What is it?"

"Thanos and Proxima Midnight are waiting for you in the control center"

"Thanks for the heads up. We'll figure something out"

"Let me handle Proxima. She's not all that tougher than Hella" Thor offered.

"Are you sure?"

"I am. I know you three can take Thanos without me. Let's do this" he answered as they entered the control room.

"This is the famed Commander Shepard?" Thanos asked looking at him.

"Yes, Master. That is the one who has killed four members of the Black Order and stopped your first Chitauri invasion along with Hive and Red Skull" Proxima answered.

"Excellent"

"You must be Thanos" Shepard said looking past him at the woman in the throne behind Thanos "Who's your lady friend?"

"That is my beloved Death. She will so relish the chance to finally experience your death. The one who has eluded her for so long"

"I don't plan on giving up that easily"

"I don't expect you to. You have after all taken down my most powerful servants with the exclusion of Proxima here. Tell me how did you convince Schmidt to betray me?"

"It wasn't all that hard really. I don't think he liked you that much to begin with"

"Funny. I was hoping for a truthful answer. No matter, I shall learn the truth from him myself once I have gained the Mind Stone"

"You're never getting your hands on that!" Thor yelled tackling Proxima off the ledge.

"You think just because she is not here that I cannot crush you beneath my boot?"

"I think you'll certainly try"

Thanos fired a large energy blast from his hand at them knocking Vision back several feet as Natasha and Shepard rolled out of the way. Charging Thanos, Shepard pulled his staff out and began beating him with it. Thanos grabbed his staff and threw him backwards into Natasha as she charged him knocking them both down. Vision slammed into Thanos knocking him onto his side.

Standing back up, Shepard charged back at Thanos. Opening his shield, he bashed Thanos onto his back catching him by surprise. Removing his pistol from its holster as he pinned Thanos down with his staff, Shepard fired his weapon. Thanos moved his head enough for the bullet to bounce back off his helmet into Shepard's stumbling him back. Kicking him in the chest, Shepard flew through the air connecting with Vision who caught him before he flew off the edge of the platform. Thor could be heard throwing lightning around the room.

Natasha snuck behind Thanos, using her Widow's Bite on the back of his neck, Thanos began convulsing as electricity coursed through his body. Roaring with pain he grabbed her by the hair and slammed her down on the floor. Raising his boot over her chest he slammed it down onto her chest, only to find her missing and Vision in her place, having thrown her to safety. Thanos grinned upon seeing his Mind Stone.

"How generous of you to hand yourself over-" he began to say before getting kicked in the chest simultaneously by Shepard and Natasha, dropping him onto one knee. They both grabbed Vision and moved him to safety before Thanos recovered.

"We need a plan" Shepard said to Natasha as Vision stood back up.

"I've got one" Natasha said pulling them close so only they could hear her.

"Whatever your planning won't work. I am far too powerful for your baseless tricks"

Shepard stood up and used his repulsors to launch him at Thanos. Tackling him to the ground he used his sword to cut of his right hand and moved to slice his throat. Thanos kicked him off and picked himself up. Roaring in pain he charged Natasha as she gracefully slipped around him using her Widow's Bite to shock him. Vision grabbed Death by her shoulders and used the Mind Stone to look into her mind. Jumping back immediately he looked horrified "You're truly a monster!"

"Not the worst I've ever been called" she answered back.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY BELOVED! I'LL CRUSH YOU INTO-"

"She doesn't love you" Vision interrupted Thanos's rant making him stare in disbelief.

"LIAR!"

"I read her mind. You'll never gain her affection by killing people" he continued.

"Then how-" he began to ask as Thor slammed into his back imbued with lightning knocking him off the platform. Thor landed next to Shepard as Thanos fell down towards the core of the station.

"Shepard to ground team. Status report"

"Loki here. I'm tagging them as they come. But feel free to call for an exit anytime!"

"Get back to the ship, all of you. Rocket, prep the engines. I'm going to overload this place and blow it sky high"

"Roger that Commander"

Shepard opened the coil to the core as Natasha approached him with explosives in hand. Accepting them he placed them onto the coil before sliding it into place "Let's move. We've got ten minutes before this place blows" Thanos suddenly appeared again three times the size he was previously towering over the four of them.

"I told you! You cannot defeat me!" he yelled showing off his Infinity Gauntlet sporting five Infinity Stones "Now you shall feel the wrath of Death!" Thor imbued his fist with lightning before slamming it into Thanos's chest causing him to stumble backwards.

"Aim for his eyes!" Shepard yelled to Vision and Natasha. Following his orders they blinded Thanos causing him to grab his face in pain, his roaring voice filled with anguish.

"Hit him with everything!" Vision yelled.

Thor threw his strongest lightning bolt at him while Vision used his Mind Stone laser on him with Shepard and Natasha firing their weapons at his face. Disorienting him, he slammed his hand down that he had replaced somehow with the gauntlet and fell over knocking the platforms sideways. Natasha began sliding down one towards the abyss. Shepard dived after her sliding on his stomach with his arm outstretched to meet hers. Catching her as she slid off the edge she dangled over the ledge where Thanos was falling dramatically. Pulling her up they rolled down to the other platform as it fell.

* * *

Stirring himself awake Shepard pulled himself off the floor pushing the piece of metal covering him off his chest. Running over to Natasha who was under a similar piece of metal he helped her push it off as Thor and Vision helped each other up.

"My leg is broken" Natasha groaned out.

"Can you walk?" Shepard asked helping her to her feet.

"No" she answered hissing in pain.

"Guess we're doing this the old fashioned way" he answered picking her up bridal style and nodding towards Thor and Vision as they ran towards where the ship was.

"Do you copy? Commander? Come on, Shepard don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?" Tony called over the microphone.

"I'm here, Tony. Did the ground team make it?"

"Everyone is aboard we're just waiting for you guys"

"We're on our way!" he yelled over the gunfire as he ran.

"Human. You've changed nothing. Your species has now earned its place among those I will conquer and destroy. That which you know as home shall be destroyed. You should not have angered me" Thanos's voice rang out through the corridors. Arriving at the ship, Vision and Thor jumped aboard as Tony fired at the Chitauri following them.

Shepard jumped towards the ship as it hovered in the air throwing Natasha at Tony as he grabbed the ledge. Tony caught her while Thor grabbed Shepard's hand and pulled him up as the ship took off.

"Go!" Shepard yelled as he entered the cockpit.

"Detonation in ten, nine, eight, seven-"

"I get the gist of it, Gamora. Hold on!" Rocket yelled hitting the accelerator. The station exploded behind them as they passed through the gateway.

"You've changed nothing. I will find another way" Thanos voiced echoed in his head.

* * *

"We did it" Natasha breathed out from the floor.

"Hell ya we did!" Rocket yelled.

"Casualties?" Shepard asked.

"None. Somehow we all made it back in one piece" Tony said helping Natasha up.

"Guess we won't be checking any names off the list" Natasha answered.

"What list?" Tony asked confused as everyone entered the room.

"John proposed to me before we went on this mission. I said yes"

"You guys are getting married!" Rocket yelled in surprise.

"Congratulations on the betrothal!" Thor yelled excitedly.

"Thank you. You're all invited by the way" Shepard clarified.

"Damn right we are" Wanda answered coyly.

"There's so much to do! I need to have Pepper-... I need to tell Pepper" Tony gushed with excitement.

"Could we just take a day to relax first? I feel we've all earned that much" Natasha asked.

"Agreed"

"Anything for the bride!" Tony said happily.

 _He's gonna be like that the whole time isn't he?_ Shepard asked himself already knowing the answer shaking his head.


	29. End Of An Era

**No note this chapter. Read and find out for yourselves!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Nine: End Of An Era**

(Three Months Later Washington DC)

"We up and running?" Fury asked as Coulson entered the room.

"Yes, Director. We should be prepared this time" Maria Hill answered from the other end of the room.

"Maria, if you tell me this is a practical joke... Well it kills me to say it but I-I would be really impressed" Coulson said stopping in front of her.

"Impressing you, Phil, is the easiest thing I'll do all day" she countered with a smirk.

"Let's get serious Agents" Fury said turning around.

"Nick. This is my serious face. Can't you tell?" Coulson asked with a small smile while pointing to his face.

"Maria, what have you got?"

"Someone or something has disabled our skyline defense system"

"And communications have been spotty for the past few days. I was barely able to call the Avengers for the meeting you wanted to have with them. Shepard said he'll be arriving today with the Guardians and their ship, while the others made it to town yesterday. Guess he was busy with wedding plans" Coulson added.

"Maybe it's just the storm" Fury said with hope filling his voice turning to look at a horrendous looking storm in the distance outside the window "Maybe its..." he stopped with a look of terror on his face "What are the satellite feeds telling us?"

Maria looked at her datapad for several seconds before answering "None"

"That's good, right?" Coulson asked.

"No. I mean they're not there! There are no satellites!" Maria said urgently.

"And that's not good" Coulson gravely concluded.

"I thought we'd have more time" Fury said under his breath. Looking out of the window he watched as dozens of ships emerged out of the clouds of the storm "Battle stations!" he yelled as the ships began firing missiles at the city. Missiles came soaring towards the building.

"Everyone with me, Now!" Screamed Fury dropping a giant plasma shield on the ground encasing him and the front of the room. Coulson drew his pistol from his holster and began firing it at the ships. Maria tackled him out of the way of the ceiling collapsing on him pulling them both into the shield.

"Hang on!" she yelled as the room exploded.

* * *

"Hello? This is Rocket from the Guardians of the Galaxy calling to make sure we can land on your building. Anyone home?" Rocket asked while flying the ship as Shepard entered the part of the ship where the rest of the team was relaxing.

"No answer? That's not like Fury at all"

"Not one. You'd think they would be more appreciative of you calling off the wedding to attend Fury's meeting. Any idea why he wanted us to bring our equipment?" Peter asked.

"No clue. I'm sorry I had you guys come all the way out here for the wedding for this to happen" Shepard said with a shake of his head.

"No problem, Commander. We wouldn't have missed it for the world" Gamora chirped with a hint of excitement.

"Thank you-"

"This is Rocket from the Guardians of the Galaxy, calling again! Can someone pick up?" he said annoyed.

"Try the emergency channels" Shepard said.

Rocket pressed a few buttons and waited for the sound of static to play "No response on any channels, even the emergency ones" he said looking at Shepard with a look of concern.

"What is going on back there?" Shepard asked with a sigh "Remember when I told you that you fly too fast?" he asked Rocket "Forget what I said, fly fast!" he said as he began putting his armor on.

"With pleasure!" Rocket answered.

"What is it?" Drax asked Shepard watching him put on his armor.

"Something is wrong, I want to be prepared for whatever it is" he answered.

Emerging from the storm they found the city in flames with dozens of ships hovering overhead. Missiles were flying everywhere as multiple quinjets and air-force jets where attacking them. Multiple blasts could be seen in the distance presumably from Iron-Man or War-Machine fighting in the sky.

"Isn't that supposed to be where we're landing?" Peter asked pointing to the new SHIELD headquarters that finished construction only days before.

"Drop me on the roof. I have to make sure everyone is alright" Shepard ordered.

"You got it, Commander. We'll try and keep them occupied as long as we can" Rocket replied.

Opening up the back of the ship, Shepard jumped out with his rifle in hand and made his way down the destroyed rooftop entering a poorly lit hallway with only emergency lights to allow him to see. Suddenly a nearby wall crumbled down with the sound of gunfire.

"Chitauri!" Shepard yelled as he fired his weapon dropping two of them as they entered the hallway. The third one screeched in anger before Shepard stabbed his knife into his face, kicking him to the floor.

"This doesn't make sense. The Chitauri worked for Thanos and he's dead. Whatever they want must be here, maybe they're looking for revenge?" Gamora said over the radio.

"They're here for a reason. Let's show them we don't back down in the face of adversity" Shepard replied.

"This is Director Fury. All noncombat personnel report to evacuation zones. Strike Teams: rendezvous in the plaza. Our planet will not fall to these beasts" played through his helmet.

"Fury! It's Commander Shepard. I'm in the building" Only static was his answer "Fury!" he yelled again, the door in front of him began opening. The door jutted open as Coulson slammed into it.

"Coulson!"

"Hey, Commander! Give me a sec" he answered turning back around and firing three rounds from his pistol dropping all three Chitauri warriors. Turning around he spun his pistol in his hand "Fury's doing the hero act in the plaza. Me? I've got a date with whoever's behind this. It'll be a short date "he explained turning and jumping down a broken flight of stairs breaking through the wall. Shaking his head he walked down the hallway to find dozens of civilians there.

"Over here, Commander!" called a voice to his right. Turning he saw Clint Barton standing there with his bow in hand "Follow the path through here, it will lead you through the hangar and into the plaza. I'll look after these people" he said as he pulled the door open "If the Chitauri want war. We'll give them war!"

"Be careful" Shepard said walking through the door "Have you seen Nat?"

"Not since this morning. She was supposed to meet us here today" he answered back as he shut the door.

Walking down the path he entered the hangar where several Chitauri warriors awaited him, screeching as he entered.

"I've got plenty to go around"

* * *

"Ok. I keep tagging these Chitauri as something called the Cabal. Anything on them?" Coulson asked.

"They're Thanos's elite. Ruthless. They have never been defeated before" Maria answered.

"Until today. Today, they face us"

"But, Fury. They're attacking our headquarters-"

"Our headquarters waits! We protect our people. At any cost"

Shepard emerged to see a large dreadnought flying overhead "That must be their command ship. Whoever is in charge here has got to be aboard" Rocket said. Looking at the statue of Thanos on the top of the ship Shepard sighed "I have my own theory on that" he breathed out barely above a whisper.

"What was that? You're breaking up?"

"Rocket? Rocket, can you here me? Hello?" Shepard asked getting no response. Looking down at the plaza he saw an overwhelming number of Chitauri attacking Fury and his agents defending the doorway.

Using his rifle he carved a path through their numbers arriving at Fury shortly after "Shepard! How did you get here?" he asked surprised.

"Status report!" Shepard yelled over the gunfire firing back at them.

"Civilians are being evacuated as we speak. We need to hold this position until they are taken down. Then get ourselves onto that command ship and take down their leader" Fury said.

"You have a plan?" he asked dropping a dozen more soldiers as they approached.

"Missiles! Fall back to my shield!" Fury yelled before multiple missiles collided with his shield.

"Fury, the last of the shuttles is away" Wanda informed "Vision has gone silent. I'm going to look for him"

"I'll hold this position. Go with Maximoff and find Vision. I'll brief you on the plan as you go. Tune into this frequency" Fury ordered handing him a piece of paper with a code on it.

"Understood. Stay safe"

"Good luck to us all" he said as he fired at incoming troops to cover his escape. Making it out of the plaza and entering the hallway to where Wanda was headed he slowed down to make sure he was not ambushed. Walking out to see a dozen Chitauri all firing into the sky he had a look of confusion for a brief moment before they were blown away by Wanda's Psionic explosion as she hovered down onto the platform.

"Wanda!"

"Vision is gone. Cabal, you will take no more from us" she said looking at one of their transport ships arriving just in front of them "And you'll find no mercy in me!" she screamed jumping onto the roof after firing a blast of energy at it causing it to spiral out of control.

"Commander-"

"She'll find Vision. We need to move on that command ship"

"Alright, then head to the north end of the building. Romanoff will pick you up"

"She's alive then?"

"Absolutely. Get there, now!" Explosions broke the wall down throwing him onto his back. Using his rifle he fired blindly at the origin of the explosion. Five Chitauri warriors collapsed with three staring in confusion. Standing back up he used his sword to cut the three of them in half in one swing. Moving through the offices he arrived on the north balcony.

"Romanoff is inbound! We need that ship of the field!"

"I'm here" Chitauri hovercrafts arrived above him "So are the Chitauri, apparently"

Machinegun fire took down the hovercrafts before they realized what happened "Someone told me you need a ride" Natasha said smugly from her quinjet hovering overhead.

"Much appreciated" he said to her as he walked aboard. Natasha headed towards the ship.

"Fury, picked up Shepard-"

"Get him on that command ship now!" he yelled through explosions.

"On it, Director" she answered "Hold on back there!" she yelled as she accelerated towards the ship. Spiraling out of the way of a missile she turned a switch above her on and pushed down on a shift. Turning the ship upside-down she soared under the belly of the ship, pulling back hard on the shift she flipped them back around in front of the ship.

"Time to kick em where it hurts!" she yelled back as Shepard jumped onto the ship "Let us know when the shields are down and we'll hit this with everything we've got"

"I'm on it"

"Coulson, what's your status!?" Fury asked.

"Uh, little low on ammo. The whole _(Static)_ working out. Any _(Static)_ from Maximoff?"

"Not since she went _(Static)_ form up on me!"

* * *

"Thank you for your generous contribution" Shepard said picking up one of the Chitauri's weapons and firing into the shield generator causing it to explode violently. Turning on his heel he began running towards the exit "Fury, the generator is down!"

 _(Static)_

"Fury?" he asked as an explosion tossed him onto his back. Picking himself back up he picked up his pace "Natasha, I'm headed topside"

 _(Static)_

"Natasha!" he yelled as he came onto the roof of the ship. Running out into the middle of the ship he looked out at the destruction "We've come back from worse" he said to himself trying not to panic.

"You won't" a familiar gravely voice said behind him. Turning on his heel he aimed his weapon in the direction of the voice.

Thanos stood proudly among all five members of the Black Order who stood on either side of him "Welcome to a world without hope" he said gesturing to the destruction around him.

"You died months ago. How are you all here?"

"The Infinity Stones make me all powerful. I only have one missing" he answered.

"You wont get it"

"I already have" he grinned motioning to his the others to attack.

Proxima threw her spear at him as Corvus charged him with his glaive in hand. Catching the spear he spun around slamming it into Glaive as he attacked knocking him over. Cull obsidian swung his war axe down on him before being tripped with the spear taking his legs out from under him. Throwing the spear into Proxima's shoulder as she attacked from behind she yelled in pain as blood poured from her wound.

 _That's her weakness then_ he thought smirking under his mask.

Ebony Maw reached for his head with his hand glowing blue. Kicking it away from him he slammed his foot into his chest throwing him back several feet as Supergiant attempted to control his mind "I made some adjustments to my armor. I'm not vulnerable to your mind tricks anymore" he smugly answered back.

"Shepard?! Where are you?" asked Natasha as communications were restored.

"I'm topside, waiting on you. Our old friends came out to play" he answered.

"I'm on my way!"

"Enough" Thanos said calling them back to his side "You cannot defeat me this time. Not with the power I hold"

"How much you want to bet on that? I don't think you want to make that bet"

"Allow me to show you" he grinned firing a blue blast from his hand using the Space Stone. Unable to move fast enough, Shepard crossed his arms in front of his chest in a vain attempt to block the blast shutting his eyes. Upon noticing nothing had changed he opened his eyes to see his armor smoking but undamaged.

"How did you do that!?" Thanos asked momentarily losing his composure "No matter" he fired all of them at once knocking Shepard over. Thanos approached him as he struggled to get up, looking up at him.

"Do not look at me, vermin" he said coldly kicking him away from him. Soaring through the air he landed on his back, rolling onto his side as he searched for his rifle that was now missing. Drawing both his pistols he fired at Thanos who vanished and reappeared before him, knocking his weapons from his hands.

"You're weak, undisciplined, cowering behind a team of misfits"

"Says the one who hides behind an army of aliens and a team of battle-hardened terrorist" he countered pulling out his staff.

"You're not brave. You've merely forgotten to fear my beloved death. Allow me to reacquaint you" Thanos punched him in the face, throwing him to the edge of the ship.

"I'm not doing to well here" he said as his staff slid off the edge of the ship.

"I'm coming, Shepard! Just hold on!" Tony yelled flying towards the ship.

"You never deserved the power you were given by the Kree to destroy my kind" Thanos said as Shepard struggled to his knees pulling his sword out "I am Thanos. And your life-" he said pointing towards the city "-Is mine" he finished kicking him off the edge of the ship. Shepard used his boot thrusters as he spiraled towards the ground only to find them malfunctioning.

"Guys, my thrusters aren't working!" he began to panic.

"Tony, catch him!" Natasha yelled frantically with fear dripping from her voice. Tony quickly descended towards Shepard trying to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Tony, I'm sorry"

"John!" he yelled as Shepard collided with the ground.

* * *

Shepard pushed himself up off the floor, his armor shredded to pieces and his helmet cracked in half "Looks like I'm legging it" he said limping his way out of the city as destruction continued to rage through the streets. With no way to contact the others he just kept walking and hoped he'd find someone. Tearing off his armor as he walked until he found himself in a forest outside the city. Falling over he rolled down a hill stopping upon a grassy field.

"Where'd it all go wrong?" he asked himself.

"Probably when you decided to lay on the ground" answered a familiar voice. Looking to his right he saw Nebula watching him on the ground "You okay?"

"My planet is being invaded by the same people we just killed months ago with Infinity Stones and I don't know if anyone I care about is still alive other than you. I am a long way from okay"

"Then let's get you up" she countered standing him up "The other Guardians are safely securing a spot for survivors to take shelter. Hopefully some of our friends are there"

"Thank you. I think that would help" he answered walking with her placing his weight on her shoulder "What happened after I fell?"

"Most of us ran. Without you we didn't have anything keeping us going. We only had hope of winning because you were there. Natasha refused to stop looking for you until she knew you were dead. We found your armor and a ton of blood. We assumed the worst when the trail led to a scorched corpse" she explained.

"How long has it been. I can't keep myself conscious long enough before being somewhere else entirely"

"You've been walking for three days. I don't know how your body kept going once you lost consciousness" Nebula helped him into the quinjet before walking to the pilot seat.

"How did you find me?"

"I saw you laying in the field from above. I've been out looking for survivors for the past few hours. So far all I've found were some gruesome scenes"

Shepard began to shake his head his fist clenching in anger "We're not going to let this be how it ends. If Earth falls, it falls when my corpse hits the ground"

"I'm with you. Most of us are, Fury is pretty hell bent on running away"

"Fury's not the type of man to run away from a challenge. He must know something we don't"

* * *

"Master. The city is secure. Those who have fled are being hunted, and those foolish enough to remain have been executed" Proxima reported entering the room "Victory, as with all things is yours to claim"

"This victory is as much yours as mine old friend"

"You are most gracious. All that remains is the extraction of the Mind Stone. Once that is done, you will finally be at your full power and can wipe the galaxy clean of all life but yours. You can do whatever you wish, with the hand of Mistress Death. What more would you have?"

"I would have words with my guest" he answered opening a containment cell in the floor to reveal Vision trapped "You're the one who saw into the mind of my beloved"

* * *

"We're here" Nebula called back to Shepard waking him up.

"Where?"

"Sanctuary, code name we've developed for it" she answered as she began landing the quinjet.

"How many made it out?" he asked standing up from the medical station.

"Almost all of the civilians made it out of the city before the damage got too bad. The President has been arguing with Fury for the past five days"

"Let me talk to him" he said following her out of the back.

"Be my guest. I don't think anything is going to make him go back to fight the Chitauri invasion again"

"I'll be the judge of that" he countered as he watched the President exit the barn with an angry expression on his face "Mr. President" he called over with a small wave.

"Commander Shepard?" he asked in surprise "Where the hell have you been!?" he asked with a broad smile on his face.

"Limping my way out of the destruction apparently" Shepard noticed Clint's wife crying with her two kids playing in front of her.

"You need to talk to Fury, he refuses-"

"Excuse me for a moment please" Shepard interrupted limping his way over to her "Laura?" he asked gently. Turning her head to see him she gasped in shock "Shepard!" she yelled excitedly tackling him into a hug.

Shepard laughed heartedly "I'm glad to see you as well. I noticed you crying from over there. Clint?" he asked cautiously.

"What? No! No! Clint is fine, he's out looking for more survivors as we speak"

"Thank God. What were you crying about then?"

"I felt helpless about- oh my god you're alive!" she said as if suddenly realizing this.

"Yes, that tends to be how conversations work" he said confused.

"You don't understand. I was crying because I couldn't help, but you can!" she said excitedly pulling him over to a small house "Go in there and fix the problem" she said with a stern look. Shepard gave a confused look before gently opening the door to see a figure hunched over and shaking as if sobbing, upon getting closer he noticed it was Natasha shaking through sobs while fidgeting with a ring in her hand.

"I told you I didn't want to be bothered, Clint" she said without turning around.

"Natasha?" he asked grabbing her attention. Her head whipped around so fast her hair flailed around her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Shepard? You're alive?" she asked still in shock.

"I'm sorry, Natasha. I didn't mean to worry-" She suddenly latched onto him forcing him into a hug "Thank god. I thought I was going to go insane with how many times I've mourned you the past year.

"I know. I am truly sorry that you had to go through that"

"I'm glad you're here now. You're probably the only one who can lead us against the Chitauri. Tony and Thor are both here. Wanda arrived this morning with Bruce and Scott. The others have been funneling in the past few hours. The only person missing right now that we're looking for is Coulson"

"Coulson knows how to take care of himself"

"I agree. Vision has been missing as well, Wanda has argued with Fury about abandoning him as he refuses to leave without Coulson but apparently doesn't care about Vision being with us"

"I need to have a word with him. He isn't the type to run away from something like this"

"Agreed"

"WHERE IS HE!? WHERE IS THE SON OF A-" came from outside as Tony entered the room, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Shepard.

"Tony. I'm glad to see you're-" Tony punched him in the arm nearly knocking him over in his weakened state.

"You can't keep dying like that only to show up a few days later!" he yelled.

"I promise I am not doing it on purpose"

"Commander. We need to talk" Fury interrupted the scene from the entrance calling him over to the barn.

"I should go see what he wants" he answered with Tony and Natasha following behind him. Entering the barn he stopped to look at Fury who sat in a chair with a large bottle of liquor that's completely empty laying on the floor.

"We can't fight against this. We need to evacuate the planet"

"Since when did you turn into a coward?"

"Is it cowardice to run from a god? I happen to think it's common sense"

"The Chitauri aren't something new. We've beaten them before" Tony chimed in.

"The Chitauri aren't the problem"

"Thanos" Shepard said in agreement.

"He's dead" Natasha said looking confused.

"The Black Order and Thanos were both aboard the command ship, I fought against them momentarily before Thanos used the Infinity Stones against me"

"That's why you suffered such grievous injury?" Thor asked entering the room.

"Yes. Something happened up there I can't quite explain" Shepard began not sure how to put it into words.

"Whatever happened doesn't matter. Vision was captured by Thanos and with all six Infinity Stones there is just no possible way to defeat him"

"With all of the Infinity Stones in his possession he could wipe out all life with a snap of his fingers" Shepard said shaking his head.

"That's exactly why-"

"You knew didn't you?" Shepard asked suddenly catching everyone off guard.

"Knew what?"

"Don't bullshit me, Nick. Did you know?" he asked again.

Fury sighed deeply "I received some telemetry data of something coming to us. I thought we'd have more time before we had to deal with it. Hell, I was hoping it wasn't coming for us at all"

"Is that why you called us to DC? Because you failed to warn us before it became a problem?"

"I made a mistake-"

"You were hiding" Shepard accused.

"I thought we were done after Thanos was killed but apparently I was wrong and didn't want to admit it"

"You thought the problem would just go away if you ignored it? That's not strategy, it's stupidity!"

"I-"

"You were hiding! Call it what you will but that's what you did, and now we're all paying the price for it"

"What would you have me do about it now? If we go against Thanos he could wipe us out without even trying!"

"You tried running already! Guess what? It didn't work, now we try it my way! We dig in and we fight!"

"We'll lose"

"He's right, Fury" Coulson said stepping into the room with a large disc in his hand and a suit completely in tatters.

"Coulson?" he asked shocked.

"Miss me?"

"You know our only chance at survival is taking down Thanos" Tony brought them back to the earlier topic.

Fury stared hard at the group in front of him "Dammit, I know. That's what I was afraid of"

"We'll fear not, Director Fury, for I have brought the answer" Coulson said tossing the large disk onto the table.

"What is that?" Natasha asked.

"Teleporter" Fury answered "Only a prototype" he added.

"A working prototype" Coulson continued "I used to escape the attack. We can use this to get all of the Avengers aboard Thanos's ship and take him down before he knows what hit him"

"You need to be at least within 500 yards of the target area" Fury said making everyone deflate.

"That's what we're here for. What's left of SHIELD and the Avengers can work with the Guardians of the Galaxy to get us into the city and use the teleporter to get a small team aboard and stop Thanos"

"And rescue Vision?" Wanda asked.

"If he's still alive, of course" Shepard answered.

"Let's get down to business then. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow" Rocket grinned.

"There was something else I needed to address" Shepard said gaining the attention of the room.

"What is it?" Natasha asked.

"Thanos used the Space Stone to try and kill me like a Hydra weapon would. I wasn't fast enough to dodge it and took the blast head on. I absorbed the blast"

"What?!" Thor asked in disbelief.

"What do you mean, you absorbed it?"

"The blast he hit me with should have torn my body apart. Instead the blast vanished as it collided with my arms. The feeling felt very familiar, almost the same feeling I got from touching the Tesseract"

"You mean to say you can absorb the power of the Infinity Stones?" Thor clarified.

"I'm saying I don't know what the hell happened. Just something we might want to keep in mind when we go fight Thanos"

"I'm ready whenever you are" Thor said lifting up his hammer in his hand.

"Didn't that break?"

"Heimdall built me a knew one. Apparently he had saved some spare ore to build a weapon for my heir one day, instead gave me a replacement hammer" he grinned excitedly.

* * *

"It would save us both a lot of time if you would just kill me" Vision breathed out as smoke came off of his skin.

"For someone who calls themselves Vision, you have remarkably weak foresight. We've learned that Commander Shepard has yet again survived and escaped the city. You say he is just a mere mortal after what the Kree did to him wore off, yet he survives even this. Help me understand Vision" Thanos said approaching him.

"Hope lives in all places, in all things. You can try and block it, even try to trap it, but hope will find it's way. Shepard will destroy you!"

"The Infinity Stones. For years I have studied them, their power over life and death, time and space, reality. We are not so different, your Commander and I"

"You are nothing like Shepard. NOTHING. You think you have power, control. I know your kind. You started small, you will end small" he taunted.

Thanos approached him and placed his hand on his throat "If Death truly has no love for me. Then there is no reason I should not reach inside and tear out the Stone from your head and reduce this planet to ashes" he threatened dropping him.

"Only she can choose whether she loves you or not"

"Yes. This I know, this is why I have invaded your planet and the only reason you still live. Death will choose me, Vision. You are going to tell me how" Thanos sat on his throne in the room "Tell me again, Vision. What makes Shepard so powerful. How does he inspire such loyalty from others and fear in his enemies? How do even the strongest of my Black Order fear his name?"

"Devotion. Self sacrifice. Death"

"Death. Explain"

"Devotion inspires bravery, bravery inspires sacrifice, sacrifice... leads to death. So... feel free to kill yourself" he spit out venomously.

"Devotion. Sacrifice. I was born an outcast, a runt. As is custom with the Titans, I was cast aside and left for dead. Rejection, ridicule, torment. It made me stronger. I gave everything to win not just acceptance, but glory. Mine is the face of devotion and sacrifice. I will not take Death's hand by force. To do so would be to admit failure, and I never fail! Now do you see why I would be chosen?"

"I see now" Thanos turned and walked towards the entrance as Proxima Midnight entered the room "I see all that you've done"

"Master, our operation has been a success. We have located the survivors from the attack and the Black Order is ready to mobilize. Everything we have worked so hard to achieve is finally here. All that awaits is your word"

"No. This is not the way" he said stepping past her.

"But it is the way. The only way"

"Not for me"

"Proxima Midnight turned to glare at Vision.

* * *

"Trust me" Shepard implored.

"I could kill you" Thor warned.

"I'm ready" he said awaiting Thor.

"This is by far the stupidest thing you've ever done" Loki said from behind him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Last chance to back out" Tony Clint asked.

"Go for it"

Thor charged himself full of lightning and threw the strongest blast he could muster at Shepard. Placing his hands in front of his face the bolt connected with his hands and stayed in the air as Shepard began sliding backwards from the sheer force. Shepard closed his eyes and began to focus on the feeling of the energy in his fingertips slowly allowing it to pass through him. Opening his eyes he pointing one hand towards the sky watching as the lightning bolt passed from one hand through his body and out of his other hand towards the sky tearing his gloves off.

"Holy shit!" Bruce said surprised.

"How did you do that?" Tony asked.

"It must be something the Kree planted in me so I would be immune to any of the Inhumans abilities" he concluded.

"Could you do that with the Infinity Stones?" Clint asked.

"I did three days ago"

"Then we have our plan. We attack the city and use the teleporter to get us inside and fight against Thanos. You'll be the one we need to defeat him" Natasha explained.

"Sounds good"

"You can't take all of us, some of us will have to be left behind" Rhodes said.

"Why don't you take the day to figure out who you're taking with you and then we'll get started in the morning" Loki said.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's make sure we get this done" Shepard said gaining nods of agreement in response.


	30. Clash Between Gods

**This is it! The final chapter of the story, thank you all so much for your support. I hope you all enjoyed this story, as I put a lot of work into it.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own imagination!**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty: Clash Between Gods**

An explosion awoke Shepard from his sleep. Getting up quickly and grabbing his sword from the counter with Natasha following behind him he kicked the door open and walked outside. Corvus Glaive stood in the open with Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian behind him. Supergiant was standing on top of one of the houses with Ebony Maw sitting beside her.

"Should've figured you'd turn up sooner or later" Natasha sighed.

"Indeed you should've"

"Hopefully you're not the toughest Earth has to offer" Supergiant taunted.

"I seem to remember killing you singlehandedly on your dreadnought" Shepard countered.

"Yes, but now your not safe behind your helmet and your trick wont work on me twice"

"Hopefully Mjolnir will leave an impression" Thor said throwing his hammer at Ebony Maw causing him and Supergiant to jump off the roof.

Corvus charged Shepard "I don't believe we finished our fight" he said grinning as he swung his glaive at him. Natasha grabbed him from behind and stopped him mid swing snapping his neck.

"That wasn't so bad"

"He's not dead yet" Shepard said lifting up his glaive and using it to defend against Cull Obsidian's attack. Suddenly Black Panther landed on his head using his claws to scratch his skin.

"T'Challa!" he yelled happily. Black Panther flipped over him before he could get hit with the axe.

"Nice to see you again, Commander. Glad to see your doing well"

"Glad to have your help"

Suddenly the sky filled with ships "Not just me, Commander. All the warriors of Wakanda are at your back"

"Plenty of people to possess then" Supergiant smiled.

"I'll handle her. You focus on taking down the others"

"Understood"

Ebony Maw placed his glowing hand onto Sam's head knocking him out cold "Too easy"

"Want to go with me?" Tony asked hovering in his Iron-Man suit.

"Gladly"

Drax stabbed Cull Obsidian in the chest with Corvus's glaive "I have my chance to destroy you finally!"

Supergiant possessed multiple people at once including Wanda before she began screaming in anguish "You're not the only one who can manipulate minds" Wanda smirked.

"How is this possible?" Proxima asked as Thor was overpowering her with lightning and his hammer.

"We're the Avengers, your Black Order can't compete with us" Clint said trapping Supergiant in a net.

Corvus stood back up only for Natasha to shoot him in the face again.

Using her psionic power Wanda lifted up Supergiant slammed her into the floor repeatedly, Shepard stabbed her in the chest shortly after killing her.

"No!" Maw yelled before Tony blasted a hole in his chest with his chest repulsor "This isn't possible" he said before collapsing.

Drax cut off Cull Obsidian's head using the glaive parading it around like a trophy "Hahaha! I am the greatest of all warriors!"

"This is what happens when you mess with the Avengers" T'Challa said with a smile under his mask keeping Corvus restrained while Thor fought off Proxima striking her with a powerful blast of lightning with his hammer. Proxima flew away as quick as she could gravely injured by her own spear.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a prisoner" Loki said waking Sam up.

"Time for interrogation then" Shepard answered with a smile.

"No, please! I swear I'll tell you anything! Just don't let him near me, you can kill me afterwards if you want! I've seen what he does to his enemies!" Corvus yelled fearfully.

"Then tell us what you know"

"Thanos is questioning Vision for information. I don't know what information, but he is reluctant to take the stone from him for fear of killing him. I also know he knows your alive and he is afraid"

"Good. Know anything about troop movements?"

"They're the same every night. One man patrols and heavily guarded checkpoints. Spotlights just incase"

"Excellent. Thank you for your cooperation" Tony said before smashing his glaive on Thor's hammer.

"Thank you. Just make it quick" he pleaded as Natasha shot him in the back of the head.

"We should get moving. If we give them time to regroup we might miss our opportunity"

"Agreed. Have you decided who's going with you?" Natasha asked.

"Yes. You, Clint, Tony, Wanda, Thor, and Hulk"

"That's it?"

"Smaller group is less likely to be detected in a big ship like that. Plus it's all my heavy hitters. I still have a plan for the initial attack lets brief the troops"

* * *

One Chitauri soldier walked down the alleyway looking around for any sign of an attack. Stopping and pointing he saw a small cat look up at him and purr at the sight of him. Lowering his weapon he was caught by surprise with a knife in his neck by Coulson.

"What's that now? Seven?" Nebula asked as she emerged with several soldiers behind her.

"Who needs a gun when you've got a metal arm. Am I right? Am I right or am I right? I'm right" he said as she gave no answer. Following her around a corner she stopped and aimed around the corner through her scope looking at the Chitauri troops guarding the checkpoint.

"Okay, ya. That's the rally point where I'll set up the teleporter. Fury and Hill should be at their marks by now" Coulson explained.

"Fury, we're in position" Nebula reported.

"As are we. Maria, ready when you are"

"Copy. Fire in the hole" she replied firing a blast taking down one of the guards. The spotlights turned on in the direction of the gunfire. Maria and several soldiers on bikes sped past the troops firing their weapons as they passed and knocking down the leader. Tossing a grenade they accelerated to escape.

"Okay, let's go" Nebula said motioning for them to follow.

"Fury, we're coming around" Maria said.

As the smoke cleared Fury and his men were ready to attack the Chitauri forces "Okay" he breathed out. Charging he grabbed the weapon on the first soldier he saw. Struggling momentarily he turned it up towards his head before kneeing it causing it to fire. Grabbing it again he fired it into the back of another. Suddenly he was thrown to the ground by a third one and had a boot holding him down on the floor.

Nebula shot the soldier in the head "What's with you Avengers and falling down all the time?" she asked helping him up.

"Where's Coulson?" he asked as gunfire rained around them making them seek cover.

"If he's sticking to the plan" she said looking through her scope she saw him push the guard off the roof giving a thumbs up to Nebula "He's right where he needs to be. Now we just have to get you and Hill up there with him" Large red shields turned on between them and their reinforcements blocking their path "Well, this changes things" Turning towards him "I'll work on this, you need to get moving"

Nodding he pressed his hand to his ear "Hill, Coulson is in place and I'm en route. Good luck, Avenger" he nodded to Nebula.

* * *

"Thanos. The enemy attacks the city, and the Black Order is lost" Proxima Midnight announced entering the room with her staff in hand, limping.

"Lost? Explain yourself" he demanded turning around to face her.

"Laid waste. By the same Avengers who survived our assault and have been humiliating our forces for the past three years! You would know this if you weren't wasting your time communing with a machine who claims to know Death's thoughts"

"Take care your tone, Proxima"

"My tone? Ha! We will fail in our mission to secure the stones and gain her favor. For the first time in Cabal history, fail! Because of you and your preoccupations. Look at this city, Master! We have the stones the time is now, claim what is rightfully yours and take her hand!"

Thanos shook his head in disbelief "Tell me, Vision. What more does she want of me?"

"Thanos, she doesn't love you. She loves Dormammu" Thanos stared out at the city with a look of heartbreak and his face contorted with anger.

"Augh!" Vision yelled as he was stabbed in the chest with a spear and fell from his prison "This fixation is over!" Proxima yelled "Remember who you are, what you are. Do what you swore, Titan and give me vengeance against these pretenders! Look at me!" she yelled.

Thanos grabbed her by the throat and took her spear into his left hand "I will do what I swore. I am Thanos, and I will kill Shepard!" he yelled profusely beating her to death with her own weapon.

* * *

"What's he doing?" Shepard asked as he and the rest of his team fought their way through the city looking up to see Thanos on top of his ship and a massive black rift in the sky in front of him.

"That's why we're here, to stop this madness" Fury answered through the comm.

"We'll use the teleporter to get to the ship if we make it there alive" Hill said.

"We've got your back" Clint replied.

"Shield is down. Move!" Nebula yelled as they passed through them already.

"We're through!" Natasha reported.

"Move before it comes back up!"

"Roger that! We're almost at the rally point" Fury noted.

"Coulson, is the teleporter active?" Shepard asked mowing down more soldiers with his rifle.

"Ow! Son of a- yeah! Almost ready!"

"I knew it. Never send Coulson to do a Nebula job" Nebula joked.

"Heard that blue!" he countered.

"Coulson, we're seeing a large group of Chitauri moving to flank your position. What's your status?" Fury asked.

"Augh! Dammit! Next time, you get to fix to unstable teleporter while being shot at!"

"Keep your head down! We're almost there!" Hill replied.

"We're close as well" Shepard said firing at the soldiers following them.

"Hill and I have reached the rally point but Coulson is still wrestling with the teleporter"

"I can either shoot or fix this thing. But not both, because they just shot off my arm!"

"We need that teleporter! We can't hold this position much longer!" Hill said.

"They're coming at us from all sides, we need your help!" Fury yelled.

"We're moving as fast as we can!" Tony yelled as they ran up flight after flight of stairs.

"Hill, Coulson, if we don't make it out of this alive, know that I've never been prouder to be part of your team"

"If we have to die, at least it'll be side by side, old friend" Hill replied.

"We're about to die and you two are still making speeches!?" Coulson yelled in protest "Hey! Don't shoot that!"

"NO!" Hill yelled firing her shotgun at the last remaining Chitauri on the roof as Shepard and his team mopped up the rest with Fury bleeding from a fresh wound on his chest.

"We can't make the jump. It's all on you now. Save the world one more time" Fury said smiling, despite his predicament.

"A working, probably stable teleporter! One-step and you'll be next to the big guy" Coulson said with his metal arm missing and an open teleporter.

"Make it matter" Hill said leaning on a railing for support.

"You're missing an arm, Phil" Tony said concerned.

"That was just junk anyway. New arm is coming with a grenade launcher"

"Stay safe" Shepard said entering the teleporter finding themselves in the room with Visions body lying on the floor "No!" Wanda screamed.

"We're too late" Thor said morosely.

"We may be too late to save him but we still have work to do. We'll mourn him properly later" Shepard said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I know"

"You're on Thanos's command ship. You're as close as we can get you. Be brave, for all of us" Fury choked out.

"This looks promising" Clint said pressing the button opening a seal to the top of the ship. Everyone climbed through it easily with the exception of Hulk who needed help from Thor.

"Surrender!" Shepard yelled as they all surrounded Thanos with their weapons drawn on him.

"Fitting you would come to face me once more. Look upon me. Master of the Black Order. Annihilator of suns. Razer of a thousand worlds. Slayer of gods and conqueror of the Infinity Stones. I. AM. THANOS... and I have become omnipotent" he finished turning around to face them.

"Time to see what you're made of" Shepard said firing at him.

"You won't escape me again! Death should have chosen me! Now it is too late! Look at your world dying! You won't be able to save humanity a second time! I am Thanos and I claim what is mine"

"Does he ever shut up?" Wanda asked annoyed, throwing a wave of energy at him, it dissipated before it could do any damage to him "What the hell?"

"You've failed your people! You've let your world die! Give up. You have nothing left to fight for. Nothing to die for"

"You really need an attitude adjustment" Tony said using his most powerful lasers on him yet doing nothing to him at all.

"I pity you! You know nothing of sacrifice. Nothing of worth"

Hulk charged him hitting him as hard as he could "Crush purple man!" his attacks seemed to have no affect on Thanos at all. Thanos blasted Hulk back into the large statue of him on his ship.

"How are we supposed to beat this guy?" Natasha asked.

"I am immortal, a god. You have failed!" he yelled. Hulk tore a piece of the ship off and began throwing them at Thanos "You really think you can destroy me?"

"Not you. Ground" Hulk answered breaking the piece of the ship he was standing on off and causing him to fall. Thanos held out his hand and rebuilt the ship instantly with the Infinity Stones.

"By human standards you're supposed to be a genius Stark. Too bad human standards are so low"

Natasha snuck up behind Thanos as Thor began soaring towards him with lightning imbued into his hammer "A mere glove is no match for my hammer!"

"Tricks and hammers wont work on me" Thanos countered grabbing Natasha by her waist and holding her in front of him. Thor forced himself to stop slamming onto the floor in front of him sliding to a stop. Thanos threw Natasha behind him off the ship.

"You monster!" Thor yelled flying after her. Grabbing her he returned her to the rest of the team "Valiant effort, Natasha"

Hulk roared and charged Thanos once again "You are a gnat, not even worth swatting" he said turning to continue to focus on the giant black rift he created in front of his ship.

"Commander, looks like we need a new plan" Tony suggested.

"I have a plan. It's risky but our only option"

"What do you need?"

"I need to feel him using the stones one by one"

"So you want him to attack us with the most powerful weapons in the universe?" Clint asked "Aren't you supposed to be a tactical genius?"

"We can't even get his attention. How're we supposed to get him to use his stone one by one?" Natasha asked.

"Preying on his weakness" Shepard answered.

"Which he doesn't have, remember?" Clint countered.

"He's got the flaw of any tyrant. Inflated ego" he said pointing towards the statue of himself.

"So that makes Tony a tyrant" Clint joked.

"Stop scaring him" Shepard said to Hulk making him stop attacking with a confused look on his face "There's only one reason he'd pretend to ignore you. He's afraid" Thanos's head turned slightly.

"Seriously remember when you beat us on that space station in Andromeda? Oh wait that didn't happen" Clint goaded.

"Ya, we actually blew it up. That was pretty fun" Tony continued.

"Right? Haha, your face was all" Clint mimicked an angry screaming face "Haha, classic"

"I know what you're trying to accomplish, foolish mortals. Like all of your plans, it will end in failure" he said turning around.

"You have infinite power to hide behind. How fair a fight is that? If you really controlled the gauntlet you could beat us using only one of those stones" Tony added.

"So be it" Thanos blasted all of them with a green energy blast. Tony's suit was rusting and everyone else was much older "The Time Stone. Unbeatable, because time is an enemy that no one can escape"

"I don't know about that. I've managed to escape it before" Shepard said with a smirk. Thanos blasted him again "How do you feel now, old men?"

"If this is our last breath" Shepard started.

"We're going to go down swinging" Wanda added throwing a blast towards him as Shepard fired his pistols at him. Thanos laughed and erased Shepard and Wanda.

"I hope you know what you're doing" Clint said as he and Natasha were erased with Tony's armor rusting over and falling onto it's back. Hulk continually was getting older as he hit him with a continuous blast.

"Hulk will smash you-" he yelled just before perishing. Thanos chuckled to himself before being hit with Mjolnir. Thor landed in front of him. Thanos blasted him with a large blast.

"Feel the centuries overwhelm you!"

"Overwhelm? The passage of time only makes Asgardians stronger! Taste the Time Stone yourself!" Thor yelled charging him. Thanos began aging rapidly.

"No! You can not defeat me. I can reverse the affects" he said causing everything to return to how it was before he used it "Mere luck humans, having an Asgardian among you"

"Luck's not a part of the equation. Teamwork is" Shepard said.

"Is that right? You had no idea that would happen!" Clint yelled angrily.

"You ungrateful cur. You doubt I could overcome such an attack. I'll show you my might archer!" Thor yelled raising his hammer. Shepard grabbed his arm.

"Stand down, Thor. Our battle is not with each other"

"Your playing chess with our lives, like you always do" Natasha yelled.

"You're the spy around here. How do we know you're not working for him?" Wanda accused.

"I said stand down!" Shepard ordered. Natasha tripped him "We don't take orders from you!"

"You'll take orders from Mjolnir!" Thor yelled attacking Natasha. Shepard moved her out of the way before the attack struck.

"Stop! Thanos is using the Mind Stone. You have to fight it!"

"No more lies, Shepard!" Thor yelled hitting him with lightning which he absorbed "You are far from the greatest warrior amongst us. A lesson you need to learn"

Hulk grabbed Thor and threw him on the floor "You think your angry? I'll show you angry!" Hulk jumped forward between them "Mind Stone make you angry?" he asked.

"The rage burns within me" Thor answered.

"Welcome to my everyday"

"How do you control it? Tell me now!" Clint demanded with an arrow pointed at him.

"I don't control anger. I aim anger!"

"Hulk's right. Use the anger but focus it on Thanos" Shepard ordered. Hulk was thrown back into the statue again.

"Anger, rage. Give in to them" Thanos goaded.

"If you say so, but you're not gonna like it. The angrier Hulk gets-" Shepard began.

"The stronger I get!" Hulk finished slamming his fist into Thanos knocking him back several feet "Hulk is the strongest one there is!"

"Avengers pour it on!"

Thanos deactivated the Mind Stone "I'm sorry, I do not think you are a cur" Thor apologized.

"That's okay. I'm not even sure what a cur is"

"Enough of this. I do not waste time with lesser beings"

"We knew you couldn't beat us with just one stone. Thanks for proving us right" Shepard said crossing his arms.

Thanos suddenly vanished into thin air appearing behind Thor and knocking him to the ground.

"Come on, I hate the Space Stone" Clint groaned before being thrown "Thor! Incoming, me!" he yelled, Thor grabbed him and guided him back to the ground "Thank you!"

Natasha was watching as Tony got punched in the gut "One, two, three" she rolled away avoiding Thanos's attack. Firing her pistols Thanos disappeared again "One, two, three. Duck!" she yelled to Clint. Doing so he avoided his attack.

"Nice, Nat. His attacks aren't random, and if there's a pattern-"

"You can do what you do best" she finished for him.

"One, two, three" Clint fired an arrow above Thor hitting Thanos "One, two, three" he did the same again for Tony "One, two, three" he said again firing behind him to hit Thanos a third time.

Tony slammed into Thanos and Thor dropped his hammer on his chest "Can I burrow this? Thanks" Tony said removing his infinity gauntlet.

"Thanos is invincible" he muttered out.

"Invincible? Don't they have dictionaries on Titan? Looks like we did it again, saving the world really is what we do best" Tony said.

* * *

"You're going to have to say that again, who disbanded?" Shepard asked.

"All of them. Hydra is helping families displaced by the attack. AIM is rebuilding and the Thirteen Rings turned themselves into SHIELD. Thanos almost destroyed the world and it brought Humanity together" Fury explained.

"World peace? That's all we've ever fought for"

"No more bad guys? It's about to get real boring real fast" Clint laughed.

"Back to the circus?" Natasha joked.

"Haha... maybe"

"So Thirteen Rings just turned themselves in?"

"You won't believe it. They said they wanted to pay for their crimes" he answered.

"You're right I don't believe it" Shepard punched Thanos in the face.

"Not cool" Hulk said.

"Hulk is right. It is not honorable to attack a chained prisoner" Thor agreed.

"He's not in chains" Shepard said punching him again.

"Have you lost your mind?" Clint asked.

"Commander, we won" Tony tried to convince him.

"Can't you feel it? It's the Reality Stone. He's making us see what we want to see"

"I don't sense anything strange" Natasha said pointing her guns at Thanos "But if you do that's good enough for me" everyone followed suit, attacking Thanos. Breaking out of the illusion.

"How do you mortals continue to defy me?"

"You even had me fooled, but Shepard's grounded enough to always see reality"

"You will be no match for the Power Stone. Let's end this!" Thanos blasted Tony, Thor, and Hulk away before Natasha and Clint grabbed his arms. Shepard went for the gauntlet before it zapped him "I am done playing your games!" he yelled kicking Clint and grabbing Natasha. Using the Soul Stone he ripped the life from her before throwing her lifeless corpse back at Shepard.

"No!" he yelled catching her.

"No one can escape death itself!" Thanos laughed. Thanos fired a blast at Shepard to take his soul as well. Shepard stood up and absorbed the energy from the stone "Impossible!"

"Not probable" he smirked before placing the energy into Natasha resurrecting her.

"Did we win?" she asked groggily.

"We're about to. Leave the rest to me guys" he said walking calmly towards Thanos.

"You cannot possible defeat me by yourself!" he yelled blasting him with all the stones power at once. Shepard stopped momentarily before continuing towards Thanos before grabbing the gauntlet and taking it off "NO!" Shepard stood there with the gauntlet in hand.

"You might've seen this coming if you weren't busy building statues of yourself" Shepard chastised him.

"No one challenges Thanos-" he yelled before Wanda slammed an energy wave into him.

"We do. When Avengers stand, tyrants fall" she announced proudly. Hulk slammed him into a wall, Natasha hit him with her Widow's Bite and Clint trapped him in a net.

"I don't need infinite power for gnats like you!" he yelled breaking the net.

"Can a gnat do this?" Thor asked smacking him into the air with his hammer and Tony blasted him into the ground with his chest repulsor.

"Well, at least that was easy" Clint joked.

"We couldn't have cut that one any closer" Tony breathed with relief.

"I knew I could pull it off" Shepard assured.

"I thought Thanos was the one with the ego" Natasha poked playfully.

"Why don't we wrap this up-" Shepard began to say before a large portal opened where the rift in the sky was previously.

"HAHAHAHA, FINALLY!" boomed a voice from the other side as a large dark purple humanoid with light purple eyes stepped out with darkness seeping out of the portal.

"What the hell is that?" Shepard asked.

"Dormammu, the master of the dark realm. He is as powerful as I was with all the stones. Without them you'll have no chance"

"NOW I CAN FINALLY TAKE YOUR WRETCHED PLANET FOR MY OWN!" yelled the voice with excitement.

"I don't think so" Thor yelled blasting him with lightning.

"HAHAHA, YOU THINK A PUNY ATTACK LIKE THAT COULD EFFECT A GOD LIKE ME?" he asked firing a large purple beam from his mouth. Hulk grabbed Clint, Shepard, Wanda, and Natasha jumping out of the way while Tony and Thor flew away from it. Thanos was destroyed in the blast.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight this thing?" Natasha asked.

Shepard looked down at the gauntlet still where Thanos was previously.

"I have an idea" he said.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

"Stay back and let me handle this" he said.

"That's not a plan that's suicide!" Natasha yelled.

Shepard held his arm out towards the Infinity Stones calling them to himself. They flew up his arm forming a necklace around his neck floating in place. Shepard roared in pain as a multicolored light came from his mouth. His hair was thrown backwards flailing as if being struck with a powerful wind as it turned white and his eyes ignited with white flames.

" **Time for you to get a taste of the power I possess** " Shepard said looking at Dormammu. Dormammu laughed as pulled him into his hand before proceeding to attempt to crush him. Shepard opened his mouth and roared as a light came from his mouth destroying Dormammu's body making him human sized.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

" **Return to your realm or be destroyed** "

"YOU CANNOT COMPETE WITH MY STRENGTH!"

Shepard formed a giant black sword and sliced Dormammu in half causing him to scream in anguish as he exploded. When the light receded the portal was closed and Dormammu was nowhere to be found. Cheers could be heard throughout the city at the victory.

 _ **The power I command now is far greater than anything I have ever experienced! It's simply intoxicating!**_

"Time for us to get rid of those stones" Thor said happily.

" **Get rid of the stones? Never! I can control everything with these** "

"Come on, Commander. I know you're still in there, you just have to-" Shepard blasted Tony with the power stone. Clint fired an arrow at him.

" **How dare you** " he said annoyed breaking the ship apart into multiple blades trained on him. Natasha stepped in front of him.

"Stop this, John! This isn't you!" she yelled determinedly. Shepard stared her down before caving.

" **What have I done? Thor destroy me! I can't control the stones!** "

"I will not, you are by far the most powerful one among us in both body and mind. If anyone can beat the stones, it's you"

Shepard took in his words with a small smile on his face. Concentrating he screamed in pain as they released their hold on him. Falling to the ground Natasha ran up to him.

"John!" was the last thing he heard before blacking out.

* * *

Shepard awoke in a hospital bed on a helicarrier. Standing up he met Fury at the door.

"You did a hell of a job out there"

"I do my best. I wasn't alone after all"

"Yes, the team made themselves galactic heroes now for taking down Thanos and Dormammu. Strange confirmed that Dormammu has been destroyed by the Infinity Stones"

"What's happened since I was out?"

"Tony and Bruce have been working day and night to resurrect Vision using the Mind Stone. They've almost finished according to them"

"The other stones?"

"Taken far away from here. I'm not even privy to their location according to the Nova Corps. They send their thanks by the way"

"How nice of them"

"Indeed. I believe Thor and Loki plan of living here on Earth now, easier for his relationship with Jane Foster anyway"

"Natasha?"

"She's waiting for you in the meeting room. I believe she has some important news for you" he said with a smirk as he walked the other direction.

"You wanted to see me?" he said entering the room.

"John!" she yelled excitedly grabbing him into a hug "I have great news"

"Besides me going into retirement?"

"Thank god! I'm so tired of thinking your dead. Anyway, Strange used the Time Stone before taking it back to fulfill a personal request of mine"

"Which you are very excited about. What is it?"

"I asked Strange to return my graduation present" she said with a large smile on her face.

Shepard stared at her strangely for a moment as the confusion lifted over his face, realization taking it's place with a big smile on his face "You can get pregnant now?!" Natasha nodded her head excitedly. Shepard picked her up in his arms and spun her around stopping only to pull her into a passionate kiss.

"We need to get back to the wedding planning. There's still so much left to be done"

"Let's just enjoy the moment first, shall we?" Shepard suggested.

"That sounds lovely" she said placing her head on his shoulder. a brief moment of silence was all they got before they noticed Tony was standing in the hallway.

"Am I gonna be an uncle!?" he yelled.

* * *

 **That's it guys. No really, that's the ending. Thank you guys so much for all your support, love you guys. Hope you loved this story! Think of all the adorable babies their gonna be having. Tony is gonna be in for a real treat!**


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